Fullmetal WITCH
by AndrewK9000
Summary: The Guardians must team up with Edward and Alphosne Elric to stop reality from faling apart.
1. Chapter 1: Discovery

Greetings fellow readers and writers! Here's my eighth story and I hope you like it! Once again we journey into the lives of our five favorite girls from Heatherfield as they battle the diabolical Pai-Mey and the demonic forces of The God Hand. This time around, Will and her fellow Guardians are joined by the Elric brothers: Edward and Alphonse. Also joining the cast is none other than Guts from Berserk, my own creations; The Ramblers, and later on the stars of Naruto and One Piece. Now I don't own W.I.T.C.H., Fullmetal Alchemist, Berserk, Naruto or One Piece. It would be nice if I did. What I do own are my original characters, The Ramblers. On with the show already!

_First there was 'Of Ninjas and Pirates.' Then there was 'Heart of the Cards.' Now there is…_

**Fullmetal W.I.T.C.H.**

**By AndrewK9000**

Chapter1: Discovery

_God I'm bored!_ Thought Irma as she walked down the streets of Heatherfield towards the park on that un-seasonably warm Wednesday in February of 2008. A freak lightning storm the previous day had fired everything electrical at The Sheffield Institute, and it wouldn't another week at the earliest when school would reopen. So Irma and her friends found themselves with a surprise vacation. However, in additional to knocking out the school, the storm had cut power to the mall, the movie theaters, the Cable TV, and as if to ad insult to injury, cell-phone reception was almost nonexistent in the city.

"Dear God in heaven," said Irma out loud as she entered the park, "What have I done to offend thee so as to merit such treatment?" Irma then noticed that she was standing less than ten feet from Hay Lin, who was sitting on a bench reading a book. "Perhaps this is God's way of telling you," said Hay Lin, "That you should be nicer to Martin."

"In that case," said Irma as she sat down on the bench, "God has a really bad sense of humor." She leaned back against the bench, her head looking up towards the overcast sky, "I am so bored right about now!" she exclaimed to the heavens.

"You certainly sound bored," said Taranee as she walked towards Irma and Hay Lin. "I have a solution," said Hay Lin, "Maybe you should try reading a book for a change; you might learn something." "Believe me if I could get rid of this boredom simply by picking up and opening a book," sad Irma, "I would, but I'm bored not just because I can't go to the mall, the movies, watch TV or use my cell-phone."

"I know what you're feeling," said Taranee, "It's been almost six months since we stopped Nerissa and Pai-Mey from destroying Candracar, and we haven't had any need for our Guardian powers." "Exactly," said Irma, "Everything's been normal all autumn and almost all winter. I just wish something would happen."

There was a moment of silence as the three Guardians pondered the lack of excitement. "I wonder how Will and Cornelia are dealing with the boredom?" asked Taranee, "Has anyone seen either of them today?" "Will took Cornelia to Meridian to see Caleb this morning," said Hay Lin, "That's the last I saw of either of them." "Typical," said Irma, "While we're stuck here with nothing to do, Miss Oh So Blond and Pretty is with her precious boyfriend."

"First of all," said Hay Lin, "Read a book, you might just like it. Second, if you're worried about not having a boyfriend, try being nicer to Martin. He's a sweet guy who really cares about you." "I would be nicer to Martin if he would just stop calling me those stupid pet names," said Irma, "and I'd go so far as to say I'd like him if he were to act less like a turbo-nerd."

Before either Taranee or Hay Lin could retort, they noticed Will running towards them like there was no tomorrow. Will stopped in front of her friends panting for breath. When she managed to slow down her breathing Will said most anxiously; "You are not gonna believe what Elyon found! You gotta come with me back to Metamore!"

"What is it?" asked Taranee, "What did Elyon find?" "You gotta see it to believe it!" said Will as she pulled out The Heart of Candracar, "It's incredible, it's beyond belief!" Making sure there was nobody around to see, she made a Fold to Metamore. She jumped through, followed by Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin.

They emerged at the edge of what at first appeared to be a large stone quarry. As Will closed the Fold she made, Irma noticed that the quarry was filled with people with various digging equipment. The quarry was in fact an archeological dig.

Will moved into the quarry, followed by her friends. All around them Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin could see various stone tablets with strange markings carved into them. They made their way to the middle of the dig where a tall metal column stood. A second metal column was being raised next to the first one. Standing next to the first column was Elyon. With her were Caleb, Cornelia and Vathek, he supervising the raising of the second column. Also there were about 20 palace guards around Elyon, and to add to the picture, there was Martin with his laptop, typing away madly.

"There you are!" exclaimed Elyon gleefully, "I thought you girls wouldn't make it in time!" "In time for what?" asked Hay Lin. "For that," said Caleb as the second column was secured in place next to the first one, forming a fifteen-foot gab between the columns. "Well?" asked Elyon eagerly, "What do you think?" "I'm looking at them," said Irma, "But I don't know what they are."

"These columns, Irma," said Martin, "In fact this whole area, is proof that extraterrestrial intelligence once walked this planet" "You mean aliens?" asked Taranee eagerly, "Now I'm interested!" "It's funny how we found this place," said Elyon, "About ten years ago my 'brother' sent a slave labor gang to mine for gold in this quarry. They didn't find any gold, but they found that column," she pointed to the second metal pylon, "It was brought back to the palace. Phobos spent years trying to figure out what it was. Eventually he had it stored in the basement. When I saw it I didn't think much of it either, until two weeks days ago. There were rumors of iron in this quarry, and when the miners dug deep enough, the found this monstrosity here," she pointed at the first column, "I had the whole area dug up and found all these tablets."

"That's where I came in," said Martin, "Elyon brought me here three days ago to translate the tablets." "So that's where you've been," said Taranee, "Everyone at school thought you were sick. You missed a hell of a lightning storm yesterday, knocked out power to half the city."

"Good thing I missed it," said Martin, "Anyway, the writings on the tablets don't correspond to any recorded language on Earth or Metamore. However one tablet had markings on it that I could translate; the tablet had symbols from both this language and Futark; the oldest written language on Earth. Using this tablet as a 'Rosetta Stone,' I have translated the language somewhat.

He paused to inhale then continued; "This whole complex was built by a race of aliens called the Krell. They were a highly advanced culture that rose to power some 40,000 years ago, and then disappeared around 7,000 B.C., why they vanished, I don't know yet. Yet before they disappeared, the Krell deliberately buried this place some 9,000 years ago."

"I'm sure that's very interesting," said Irma, "But you still haven't told us what the metal things are." "That's the best part," said Will as she walked up to the metal columns, "Martin thinks both pylons act as a dimensional gateway." "A what?" asked Irma. "An artificial means of creating openings in reality," said Martin, "For not only were the Krell a space faring people, they also developed the technology to explore parallel realities. Can't you see how important this is, Irma? While humans were living in caves, aliens used devices such as this to travel from one dimension to another."

"I wonder what they were like?" asked Will as she touched the metal pylon. Suddenly the symbols etched onto he columns lit up like a Christmas tree. "What did you do?" asked Elyon. "Nothing," said Will as she backed away from the pylons, "I just touched it, that's all."

The columns began to pulsate with energy. Blue blots of electricity began to flow up and down the pylons. "Did anybody press anything?" asked Elyon, "Did anybody touch any buttons or switches?" "Nobody's touched anything my queen," said Vathek, "Per your instructions." "This may defy logic," said Martin, "But I think someone activated this gateway from another one."

"You mean someone's coming through from another dimension?" asked Hay Lin. "Looks like I'm gonna get my wish after all," said Will as the blue lightning intensified, "Everyone take cover!" Just as Will and everyone at the dig his behind the many stone tablets in the area, there was a bright blue flash form the pylons. Will looked up to see that some sort of bluish white energy field had connected between the two columns.

To her surprise and shock, Will saw two figures emerge from the gateway; one rather short, the other rather tall. With a crackle of energy the gateway faded and the pylons went dark. With the glare from the gateway gone, Will could see that the taller figure was completely covered in metal armor from head to toe. The shorter one was a boy about her age, maybe a bit younger. He had shoulder length blond hair tied up in a braid and amber eyes. He wore a red coat; black pants and wore white gloves on his hands.

"Well here we are, Al," said the short boy. "We sure are brother," said the one in armor, "I hope we find what we're looking for in this dimension." The two began to walk from the pylons. "I wonder if there are people here?" asked the one in armor. "If there are," said the short one, "I hope they're friendly."

Just then Caleb, Vathek and the guards emerged from their hiding places and pointed their weapons at the two newcomers. "Don't move or you're dead!" exclaimed Caleb. Will swore the metal mask the taller one wore changed its expression from a normal helmet to a look of surprise. "Um," said the armored one as he and the shorter one raised their hands up in surrender, "We come in peace."

The end of chapter 1. Next chapter, we learn who these two travelers are and why they came to Metamore. See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: First Contact

Last time an incredible discovery was made on Metamore; proof of extraterrestrial intelligence. Will was awed at the archeological dig that proved that an alien race called the Krell once lived on the planet. Even better, the Krell had built a dimensional gateway that allowed them to travel from one universe to another. But the best part was what happened next. On with the show!

_"Human kind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. 'To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed it to be the worlds' one and only truth…"_

_from 'Fullmetal Alchemist'_

Chapter 2: First Contact

To her surprise and shock, Will saw two figures emerge form the gateway; one rather short, the other rather tall. With a crackle of energy the gateway faded and the pylons went dark. With the glare from the gateway gone Will could see that the taller figure was completely covered in metal armor form head to toe. The shorter one was a boy about her age, maybe a bit younger. He had shoulder length blond hair tied up in a braid and amber eyes. He wore a red coat; black pants and wore white gloves on his hands.

"Well here we are, Al," said the short boy. "We sure are brother," said the one in armor, "I hope we find what we're looking for in this dimension." The two began to walk from the pylons. "I wonder if there are people here?" asked the one in armor. "If there are," said the short one, "I hope they're friendly."

Just then Caleb, Vathek and the guards emerged from their hiding places and pointed their weapons at the two newcomers. "Don't move or you're dead!" exclaimed Caleb. Will swore the metal mask the taller one wore changed its expression from a normal helmet to a look of surprise. "Um," said the armored one as he and the shorter one raised their hands up in surrender, "We come in peace."

"You're gonna leave in pieces if you try anything," said Vathek, "especially you, small fry." "What did you call me!" exclaimed the smaller traveler. "Calm down brother," said the armored one, "We don't want any trouble with these people." "Well they're going to get trouble if that blue man, thing, whatever he is calls me short again," said the small one.

"Is that a threat pipsqueak?" asked Vathek. "That does it!" raged the smaller one. He clapped his hands together, slammed his left hand to the ground, and drew a large metal spear from the ground, "Let's go you big blue thing, or whatever you are!" "I'm a person you runt!" raged Vathek as he raised his sword. "Stand down Vathek," said Elyon as she stood between Vathek and the newcomers, "That's an order."

"As you command my Queen," said Vathek reluctantly. "Look," said Elyon, "I can see that you're stressed out from what's happened this week, we all are. Why don't you take some time off, relax for a while." "Is that an order as well?" asked Vathek. "It's a request," said Elyon, "I'd rather not it be an order. Besides, Caleb, Will and the others are here, I'll be fine." "Then I shall do as you have requested, my queen," said Vathek. He bowed and left the dig sight.

"Sorry about that," said Elyon as the guards relaxed, "We've all been under a lot of stress lately." "I can tell," said the small one as he lowered his spear. "Now," said Elyon, "Who are you and why have you come here?" "Who are you to command such authority?" asked the armored one.

"She asked you first," said Caleb, "And for your information, you are in the presence of Elyon Brown; Queen of planet Metamore and The Light of Meridian." "It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty," said the armored one as he knelt, the smaller one also knelt, "and I guess I owe you an apology for our sudden appearance."

"We're sorry if we caused any trouble," said the smaller one as he and the armored one rose, "I'm Edward Elric, but everyone calls me Ed. This is my brother Alphonse, but everyone calls him Al." "The pleasure is mine," said Elyon, "But I must ask why you have come here?"

"My brother and I are looking for information," said Ed, "We're under orders from The State to explore and discover. But mostly we're looking for information on Alchemy." "What's that?" asked Irma. "Alchemy, my little tater tot," said Martin, "Is the art of changing something into something else." "If you call me one more of your stupid pet names," raged Irma, "Just one more, and I'll rip your nose off and shove it down your lungs!"

"It's more complicated than that," said Ed, "Alchemy is a mixture of magic and science. In order to transmute or change an object into something else, one must first learn what that object is made of. Then the object is broken down into its most basic structure. Finally, the object is reconstructed into something else."

"There's more," said Al, "Alchemy has strict rules that have dire consequences if broken. Most important is the first law of Equivalent Exchange: To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. Usually that something is energy, but there are times when a much higher price must be paid."

"Well," said Elyon, "I believe I may be able to help you find what it is you are looking for. My," she cleared her throat before continuing; " older 'brother' had several books on Alchemy in the palace library, though I believe he never used them." "Good thing he didn't," whispered Hay Lin to Taranee, "If Phobos knew Alchemy, our lives would be very different right now." "You got that right," agreed Taranee."

Not long later the two Alchemists found themselves in the palace library. "Check it out, Al," said and awed Ed, "This place is huge!" "This time, brother," said Al, "This time I'm sure we'll find what we're looking for."

While Ed and Al pondered over the books, Cornelia, Irma and Taranee were talking with Elyon on the latest happenings back at Heatherfield. "You're serious?" asked Elyon, "Half the city is without power?" "You got it," said Taranee, "Everything electrical at school blew up during last night's lightning storm." "To make matters worse," said Cornelia, "The mall has been closed, no cable TV, no Internet and no cell phones."

"Good God almighty!" said Elyon, "That really sucks." "It'll be at least a week before everything's back to normal," said Taranee. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything," said Irma, "But would it be okay if we were to hang out here for a few days?" "You girls are always welcome here," said Elyon, "Any day of the week."

"You're beyond wonderful, Elyon," said Irma. "So I've been told," said Elyon, "Anyway, I just remembered something; when you talked about the lightning storm yesterday, the time you said it happened was about the same time several small earthquakes were recorded here on Metamore."

"Was anybody hurt?" asked Taranee. "No," said Elyon, "They were just minor tremors, very little property damage. But the strange thing is that the quakes happened at the same time as the storm on Earth. It's probably a coincident." "Well if it isn't," said Irma, "Then we're right where we need to be to do something about it. Things have been so boring back home; I just need a change of pace. I think these two Alchemists and what they're looking for might just be what the doctor ordered"

"I know something else the doctor ordered," said Martin as he walked up behind Irma. She turned around and held her hand in front of his face. "Stop right there, Martin Tubs!" exclaimed Irma, "Or this time I'll really carve my name onto your ass with an ice pick!"

"Why can't you understand, Irma?" asked Martin, "Can't you see that I truly care for you?" "I care about you too, Martin," said Irma, "You're a good friend, but that's all. I just don't feel that way about you the way you feel about me." She paused before adding, "I'm sorry." It was then that a look of clarity dawned on Martin's face. "No, Irma," said Martin in a somewhat calm voice that threatened to spill over into anger, his eyes on the verge of tears, "I'm the one who's sorry; sorry to have wasted so much of your time and so much of mine!" He turned around and disappeared around the nearest corner.

"I think you really hurt him this time," said Taranee. "I believe you," said a stunned sounding Irma. "Well don't just stand there," said Elyon, "go after him before he does something stupid like throwing himself off the balcony." "He wouldn't do that," said Irma to herself as she hurried after Martin, "He'd never do that."

"How much longer is she gonna keep deluding herself?" asked Cornelia, "She does love Martin, she's just too stubborn to admit it to herself." "I'd give it another week before they're together," said Taranee, "Ten days at the most." "Fifty bucks says they'll be kissing by this time Sunday," said Elyon, "that'll give them four days." "You're on!" said Cornelia.

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter, we chance scenes to revisit some old friends, The Ramblers. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Other Views scene 1

Last time Will and the others met Edward and Alphonse Elric, or just Ed and Al. A pair of Alchemists from a parallel dimension, they traveled through the Krell gateway in search of information of Alchemy. After averting Vathek from attacking Ed and Al, Elyon offered to show the two Alchemists the palace library where Phobos kept several books on Alchemy. Meanwhile Irma rejected Martin once again. This time around, 'the straw that broke the camel's back' fell on Martin. Realizing that she might have pushed him to the edge of suicide, Irma went after him. We'll catch up with that later, time to change dimensions. On with the show!

"_In the absence of light, darkness prevails."_

from 'Hellboy'

Chapter 3: Other Views Scene 1

Our story continues in a parallel Earth that's very similar to the world Will and her friends knew so well, yet filled with minor but distinct differences, and one major difference. This difference is The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. It is the duty of The Bureau to monitor, observe and in most cases, defend against supernatural threats to mankind. Within The Bureau is a team of first-response agents who have earned a reputation for getting the job done, whatever the job. This team, composed of evolved humans, or Meta-Humans, is known as The Ramblers.

One of The Ramblers, a scientist by the name Virgil Blake, was currently delivering a lecture in one of the meeting rooms in the administration level of The Bureau. Virgil, a blond haired native of L.A., always wore dark wrap-around sunglasses to conceal his metal eyes. His real eyes were burned out on Halloween night of 2004. He has long since adapted to being a cyborg, he just wears the sunglasses to look cool.

In the meeting room was Leon Smyth-Falcon from New Orleans, (Voodoo expert and one of the original eight Ramblers), Fay Valentine from Bangor Maine, (she died in the fight against Voldemort 2007 (see Harry Potter: Quest for the Horcruxes), but was brought back to life in early October (see Count Olaf Must Die!)), Laura Hurst from Denver, (one of the strongest telekinetic individuals alive), Michael Long from Des Moines, Iowa (a former bounty hunter), and Simon D.P. Brotonoononowluski from Trenton, New Jersey, (he lost his right arm during the fight against Voldemort, but had it replaced with a metal one).

At that time Virgil was right in the middle of his lecture. On the whiteboard behind him was a diagram of a complex looking microchip, a sophisticated looking device that appeared to be a laser and a drawing of a hydrogen atom. To Virgil's right was an object that was covered by a black tarp.

"So the real question is," said Virgil to his audience, "How do we improve computer chip technology, while faced with microscopic sized limitations? And I'm sure we've all asked ourselves that at one time or another, right?" Vigil didn't get the answer he was expecting due to the fact that everyone at the meeting, excluding him was asleep. Most were snoring loudly, while a few were drooling saliva.

"For f#cks sake," said Virgil to himself before shouting, "Hey! Shrink ray!" His outburst caused everyone to wake up as Virgil removed the tarp from his device, a black laser-like gun mounted on a tripod. The laser had three buttons on it, a red one, a blue one and a green one. "You got a shrink, you got a shrink ray?" asked Fay who wasn't quite fully awake yet. "We had to go through all that crap, just so you could show us the shrink ray?" asked D.P., "Now what you're saying is interesting!"

He got out of his chair, grabbed the shrink ray, aimed it at his chair and pressed the red button. A bluish white energy beam shot from the shrink ray, hit the chair, and the chair was reduced to an inch in height. "Hey don't play with that!" protested Virgil. "Hey shrink this," said Fay as she pointed at the table everyone was sitting at. D.P. aimed the shrink ray at the table and shrunk it.

"Shrink that," said Fay as she pointed at the white board, and D.P. shrunk it. "Now shrink this," said Fay as she pointed at a TV on the far wall that was currently off. D.P. aimed and shrunk the TV. "Now de-shrink it," said Fay, "Make it a Jumbo-tron!" "Which button's reverse?" asked D.P. "The blue one," said Virgil, "But…" "But nothing," said D.P. as he increased the TV from its normal size of 18 inches to 90 inches.

"The shrink ray isn't a toy, D.P.," said Virgil as she grabbed the shrink ray from D.P. "You say that about everything you own," said D.P., "You should own toys; they're fun." "This is a very important scientific tool," said Virgil, "I mean micro-surgery; long range space exploration; can any of you people just see the applications?"

"I can," said Leon, "Make my Johnson bigger!" "What you should do with that thing," said Laura, "Is shoot us a pool in one of the empty storage rooms downstairs. I've been begging Bureau Head Callahan for ages to let us have a pool." "The ray doesn't shoot pools, Laura," said Virgil in an annoyed tone. "Then why are you wasting time on it?" asked Laura.

"You ought to invent a pool shooting ray," said Michael, "Or something like that." "Swimming!" exclaimed Laura. "Doing the high dive!" exclaimed Michael. "Marco Polo!" said Laura, "I mean can't you see the applications?" "We're doing my Johnson first," said Leon, "And let me find some single girls and upgrade their butts, 'cause baby likes back!'" "Oh shut up," said D.P., "You're not Sir-Mix-A-Lot!"

At that time Virgil had brought in a huge microchip that was six feet long on each side. "Alright everyone," said Virgil as he aimed the shrink ray at the chip, "Stand back and prepare to make history!" He pressed the red button and shrunk the chip to less than in inch in length. "Amazing!" exclaimed Virgil s he picked up the chip, "Do you people realize that this chip can be inserted into a micro-bot, that could enter someone's skin…"

"Or," said Michael as he grabbed the chip out of Virgil's hand, "It can be inserted into the mouth, manually, then digested so it can battle hunger and taste good." Just like that (insert finger snapping sound) Michael swallowed the chip.

"Did he just do what I think he did?" asked Laura. "He did," said D.P., "He's so doomed." "Tell me you didn't just eat that f#ck$ng chip!" exclaimed Virgil. "Hey man," said Michael in a way that sounded like he didn't have a care in the world, "You said it was a chip, so where's the dip? Or am I looking at him?" "Oh you did not even just say that!" exclaimed Leon, "You are so dead! Oh no you didn't! On my god!"

"You know," said Virgil in a calm voice despite is rapidly growing rage, "I've been rather patient with you people for a long, long time. But you, Michael Long, have just crossed the line." He removed his sunglasses to reveal his metal eyes, "I'm gonna get that chip back if I have to blast your damn stomach open!" At that time Michael ran from the room, with Virgil chasing after him, shooting orange laser beams from his metal eyes.

Meanwhile…

Sitting at one of the many computer terminals in one of the many labs in the Bureau was Violet Baudelaire, a brilliant young inventor and one of the richest people alive. For almost a year the nefarious 'Count' Olaf, who had murdered her parents, relentlessly tormented Violet and her siblings, Klaus and Sunny. It wasn't until Violet, Klaus and Sunny came under the guardianship of Jill Sparrow that their troubles began to subside. Violet learned that she and her siblings were Meta-Humans. After being introduced to the many scientific aspects of The Bureau, Violet's talent for inventing truly began to blossom. As an added bonus, Violet met and fell in love with Shawn Ohmsford, a strong telekinetic himself. As for 'Count Olaf, he got what was coming to him in the end, but that's not important right now.

At that time Violet was working on her latest invention. Her long brown hair was tied up in a ribbon, which was a sign that her mind was working in high gear. She was so into her work that she didn't notice someone was standing behind her until she saw Shawn's reflection on the computer screen.

"And how is the world's most beautiful inventor this fine day?" asked Shawn. "I'm pretty darn good if you ask me," said Violet as she saved her work on the computer, then turned around to kiss Shawn. "So what amazing, new device are you creating that'll make the future better for humanity?" asked Shawn.

"A new form of computer," said Violet, "Virgil is convinced he can make computers better by building computer parts bigger, then shrinking them down. I disagree. Besides, I've seen his work on that shrink ray of his and the results just aren't stable. Anything he shrinks will return to its original size within days. What I'm doing is something completely different, something that shall truly launch mankind into the twenty-first century."

"I believe you can do it," said Shawn, "You did something like it before." Indeed she did, for when Violet first joined The Bureau, she perfected the design for Fusion power. "That," said Violet, "Was just the beginning. My new reactor design won't be ready for global application until 2010 or 2011. This is something that, assuming I can get all the bugs worked out in time, can be available to the public this time next year. I also have a few other ideas worth pursuing."

"I hope I'm one of those ideas," said Shawn as he kissed Violet. "You're always at the top of my list," said Violet, "Or at least near the top." She was about to kiss Shawn when the phone on her desk rang. "Duty calls," sighed Violet as she picked up the phone, "Baudelaire here… Yes… Is that so... Yes, that is interesting, it's very interesting… I'll get right on it as soon as I find Virgil." She hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" asked Shawn. "That was the Scanning Department," said Violet. "Oh yeah," said Shawn, "They're the ones who keep their eyes open for supernatural stuff all over the world." "Well they've been monitoring several time/space distortions," said Violet, "Which simply are ripples in the fabric of reality. Nobody knows what causes them, but so far they're harmless so people tend to not notice them."

"Until now," said Shawn. "Exactly," said Violet, "They've been increasing in number and in how fast they occur. More information is needed on these phenomenon if we're gonna get to the bottom of the situation."

Just then Michael ran into the room, shortly followed by an enraged Virgil and a just plain angry Fay. Virgil was brandishing one of Fay's knifes. "Just hold still, Michael," said Virgil; "You won't feel a thing as I gut you like a fish, cause I'm getting my chip back, one way or another!"

"Keep away from me!" exclaimed Michael, "You're f#ck$ng crazy!" "Give me back my knife Virgil!" yelled Fay, "It's mine and you took it from me without asking!" "You'll get your knife back when I get my chip back, Fay," said Virgil. "This isn't a big deal, Virgil," said Michael, "It was a joke."

"A joke?" asked Virgil, "A joke! Do you have any idea how much this project has cost The Bureau? It'll be my head on a silver platter if I don't get that chip back, so it's either you or me." "Just chill out man," said Michael as he removed something from his pocket, "I didn't eat your f#ck$ng chip." For indeed the chip was in Michael's hand.

"Oh," said Fay, "He palmed it before 'eating' it, clever, very clever." It was at that time that Virgil got so angry, his metal eyes short-circuited and exploded. He collapsed from the electrical discharge. "Oh my god, he blew a fuse," said Shawn. "Wouldn't be the first time," said Fay as she picked up her knife and returned it to its sheath, "Let's get him to sick-bay."

Meanwhile in the Bureau lunchroom Violet's guardian, Jill Sparrow, was being pestered by fellow Rambler, Steve Austin, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (He sometimes acts like he has no brain, but there's no denying his courage). "I'm telling you, Jill," said Steve, "I saw Dracula outside my apartment window last night!" "No Steve," said Jill, "What you saw was a media induced, paranoid delusional nightmare, which was spawned from too many horror movies."

"You keep saying that to yourself," said Steve, "but I saw Dracula, and he was as real as you are." "Perhaps you should tack some garlic wreaths to your walls," said Julie 'Hawkeye' Eckheart. Born in Pittsburgh, Julie was a natural with guns, especially her modified Winchester rifle. Her most notable features were her yellow, hawk-shaped eyes and a hooked-shaped scar below her right eye.

"Garlic isn't a deterrent against _Nosferatu_," said Klaus Baudelaire. As Violet's brother, Klaus has the unique ability to remember every word he has ever read. "Wolfsbane," said Klaus, "That'll keep vampires away." "And what makes you the expert on blood suckers?" asked Steve. "I can read," answered Klaus, "You would know this if you would just pick up a book."

Just then Violet and Shawn came in. She sat down with a heavy sigh. "What's troubling you, Violet?" asked Jill. "For starters," said Violet, "Virgil got so mad and Michael, his metal eyes blew up. He's gonna be blind for a couple days while his eye sockets recover from the electrical burns." "This is the third time he blew a fuse in his eyes," said Jill, "The fist time in the summer of 2005, the second on President's Day 2006."

Just then Max Kildare, leader of The Ramblers, entered the room. Max, a native of Baltimore, possessed incredible physical strength and speed, among other abilities of the body. "There you are, Violet," said Max, "I just talked with Doc Spartan; Virgil's gonna be out of the game for at least a week. Which means until he recovers and gets a new set of cyber eyes, you are the head scientific mind in The Bureau."

"I won't let you down, Max," said Violet. Just then a voice on the intercom rang out: "Violet Baudelaire, please contact Scanning Department. Violet Baudelaire, please contact Scanning Department." Violet went to the wall phone and called the Scanning Department. She talked on the phone for over ten minutes before hanging up. "What's wrong?" asked Shawn, for a concerned look was on Violet's face.

"Those time/space distortions I told you about earlier," said Violet, "They're growing in number and intensity." "What does it all mean?" asked Shawn. "I don't know," said Violet, "But I'm gonna find out, mark my words."

The end of chapter 3. Next chapter, we switch views back to Metamore as a new player enters the scene. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Enter The Black Swordsman

Last time we revisited the world of The Ramblers. Apparently something is happening to the fabric of reality, and Violet Baudelaire is up to the task of finding out what is happening. Enough said, on with the show!

"_Man can't change his destiny, but he can fight it."_

from 'Berserk'

Chapter 4: Enter The Black Swordsman

Irma hurried through the corridors of the palace, hoping to find Martin before he does something stupid. But we'll get to that in a bit.

Meanwhile in a village out on the edge of a great desert, Vathek was doing as Elyon had asked him to do, take some time off. This village had one of his favorite taverns to visit, partly for the drinks, and mostly because the bartender was just the right person to talk to.

"The usual, Vathek?" asked the bartender as Vathek entered the bar. "Make it two," said Vathek as he sat down in his usual seat, "And don't skimp on the horse radish." "You got it," said the bartender as he prepared the dinks. "Something's bothering you, old friend," said the bartender as he handed Vathek his drinks, which were smoking like something toxic to a normal human.

"What makes you say that?" asked Vathek as he sipped his drink, which caused him to shudder from its effect. "The only reason you're here on a weekday," said the bartender, "Is if something's bothering you." "True enough," said Vathek, "It's the Queen, she's been taking more and more rash risks. As captain of the Royal Guard, how can I protect her if she keeps risking her life?"

"Isn't is obvious?" asked the bartender, "The queen is growing up, she's becoming the sovereign she was meant to be. Soon enough, she'll be in the market for a husband." "And soon after that," said Vathek, "The Queen shall have children of her own, and eventually grandchildren." He paused before sipping his drink again, "Best not to think about such things right now."

Meanwhile…

The Black Swordsman emerged from the desert with his one good eye set on the village before him. He knew not how he arrived in this strange world, nor did he know why he was here. At that time, all he cared about was getting out of the blazing sunlight before he was roasted like a baked ham in his dark colored armor.

The people of the village took one look at him as he walked down the main street and ran inside. They had good reason to be afraid of him; partly due to his appearance, but mostly due to the enormous sword strapped to his back. He set his sight on the nearest building, which happened to be the same tavern Vathek was in. He walked inside, the door banging as he opened it.

Vathek looked up from his drink to see who had come in. He saw a man of well over six feet in height in a black traveler's cloak. As the newcomer approached the bar, Vathek could see that he had short black hair, a cut across the bridge of his nose and one brown eye; his right eye permanently closed. To Vathek, the newcomer didn't look a day over 21, but his one eye told a different story, one of vast battle experience.

The newcomer sat down two seats away from Vathek. He saw that the newcomer had black armor under the cloak. His right arm was filled with countless battle scars, while the left arm was covered by what first looked like a metal gauntlet from his fingers up to his elbow.

"What can I get for you, traveler?" asked the bartender. "Water to start with," said the swordsman in a parched voice dry from the desert, "Then a whiskey sour with a bourbon chaser." "Coming right up," said the bartender. Upon further inspection, Vathek saw that the stranger's left arm wasn't covered by a gauntlet, but was in fact completely made of metal from his elbow to his fingers.

"You looking for trouble, stranger?" asked Vathek, his hand gripping the handle of his axe. "Just passing though," said the newcomer after he drank his water, "What's it to you?" "I just happen to be Captain of the Royal Guard," said Vathek, "It's my duty to keep my eyes open for threats to the life of Her Majesty, Queen Elyon." "Is that so," said the swordsman, "Tell me, just what world is this?"

"You don't know?" asked Vathek. "Apparently I don't," said the newcomer, "So enlighten me." "This is planet Metamore," said Vathek. "Metamore," said the swordsman, "It's all the same to me. I've been moving from one world to another for so long, I don't know where I am half the time. The only thing I can do is to keep moving forward."

Just then the ground shook for about seven or eight seconds, then stopped. "Another earthquake," said the bartender. "They've been reported throughout the kingdom for several days now," said Vathek

Suddenly the newcomer stiffened as if hit by a sharp pain, his right hand flew to his neck. When he drew his hand away, Vathek saw that the stranger's palm has some blood on it, as if his neck was bleeding. "Oh great," said the newcomer in an annoyed tone, "Here we go again."

Before Vathek could ask what the stranger was talking about, the air was rocked by several screams of terror. Grabbing his axe, Vathek ran outside to see something unbelievable, but true; a demon was attacking the village. The demon stood at 12 feet at the shoulder, had six legs, each with three razor sharp claws, and a 15 foot long tail which ended with spikes. Its head had four glowing yellow eyes; its mouth was full of rows of fangs. The demon was in the process of destroying several buildings on the other side of the street, while at the same time devouring helpless innocent bystanders.

Vathek prepared to face the demon but was interrupted by the newcomer. "I got this," said the newcomer in a tone that sounded like he was used to giant demons destroying villages. The swordsman had removed his cloak, his black armor gleaming in the bright sunlight. Vathek could tell that underneath the swordsman's armor was a highly muscular man. He saw that the swordsman had attached a repeating crossbow to his metal arm. He fired several bolts at the demon.

Each bolt hit its mark, but did very little damage to the demon, except get its attention. It saw the swordsman; pondering him for several seconds before bellowing, "Sacrifice! Sacrifice! SACRIFICE!" The demon charged the swordsman as he unsheathed his huge sword. The blade was over seven feet in length and over a foot and a half in width at its widest part. Vathek also saw that the swordsman had a shoulder belt full of throwing knifes.

The demon was less than ten feet from the swordsman when he sidestepped to the right. With one swing of his sword he sliced the demon in half lengthwise. The creature's top half fell off while its bottom part kept running for several feet before collapsing.

The newcomer wiped his sword on the carcass of the still twitching demon, cleaning as much of the creature's black blood as he could. "When are you bastards gonna learn?" said the swordsman to the dying demon, "When is it gonna get through your thick heads that you can't walk over humans, and get away with it?" The bloody remains of the demon then dissolved into puddles of noxious smelling goop. "That was an impressive maneuver," said Vathek, "Where did you learn how to use such a enormous sword?" "I had a decent teacher," said the swordsman as he returned his blade to its sheath strapped to his back, "Along with more battles than I care to count."

"May I see your blade?" asked Vathek. The swordsman handed the enormous weapon to Vathek. He tested its weight in his hands. The blade was at least five times thicker than any sword Vathek had ever encountered, far too rough for a normal weapon. It was more like a heap of raw iron with point at the end and an edge on each side. As Vathek handed the blade back to the swordsman, he could tell that this was a weapon with one purpose; to destroy whatever was in its path.

Just then a Place Guardsman came running up to Vathek. "Captain Vathek!" gasped the guardsman, "Demons have been sighted in several other outlying villages!" "This could be the beginning of an invasion," said Vathek before ordering to the guardsman, "Ride to Meridian! Inform the Queen of the situation, tell her that I need the army as soon as possible!" The guardsman saluted before hurrying off to carry out his orders.

Vathek then turned to face the swordsman, "If this truly is the beginning of a demonic invasion," he said, "Then we're gonna need all the muscle we can get, care to stick around and help?" "I know I said I was just passing through," said the swordsman, "But I never turn down he chance to kill demons. I'm in."

"I never caught your name," said Vathek as he shook the swordsman's hand. "I never dropped it," said the newcomer, "My enemies know me as The Black Swordsman, but my friends and allies call me Guts."

"Your name certainly matches your style," said Vathek as two large horses were brought for him and Guts, "Welcome aboard, Guts. There's plenty of daylight left today, and there's bloody work ahead of us." "Indeed," said Guts as he and Vathek mounted the horses, "Let's hunt some demons." With that they rode off to the nearest demon sighting.

The end of chapter 4. Next chapter we return to Meridian as Irma tries to make amends with Martin, while Will ponders the mystery of Ed and Al. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Apologies and Frustrations

Last time we were introduced to Guts, The Black Swordsman. Vathek watched in amazement as Guts slew a rampaging demon with one swing of his enormous sword. With reports of more demon attacks, Guts joined with Vathek to stop the monsters. On with the show!

Chapter 5: Apologies and Frustrations

_I hope he hasn't done anything stupid,_ thought Irma as she searched the palace for Martin, _I'd never forgive myself if he killed himself because of me._ She found Martin sitting on one of the many staircases. "Oh," said Martin in a slightly annoyed tone, "It's you. I assume you're here to reject me yet again."

"I'm sorry, Martin," said Irma, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings like that." "And yet you did," said Martin, "Why did you come after me? Haven't you stepped on my heart enough for one day?" "I thought that," said Irma, "I thought you'd do something rash and pointless."

"Like what?" asked Martin, "You thought I'd jump out a window? Or maybe cut my wrists open?" "Something like that," said Irma as she sat down next to him. "Well let me clear your conscious for you," said Martin, "I'm not that crazy as to kill myself over a girl." "That's true," said Irma, "But you got to admit, you are a bit crazy."

"You're right," said Martin as he finally smiled a bit, "I am somewhat of a mad genius." He sighed before continuing, "I know you'd rather be with someone else, Irma," he said, "But I can't stop feeling the way I do about you. I just wish we could be more than friends."

"Who says we can't?" asked Irma as she held his hand, "The only things I see that are wrong with you is that you keep calling me those stupid names. If you were to stop that, you might just have a better chance with me." "Consider it done," said Martin, "O angel who accidentally fell from heaven." "That's much better," said Irma who smiled as she thought; _you got to admit, he has a way with words if he really tries. I really think I'm starting to like him._

Meanwhile…

"Just what are they looking for?" asked Will as she watched Ed and Al ponder over the books of Alchemy that Elyon found for them. "I have a hunch," said Elyon, "I maybe wrong, but I think they're looking for how to create a Philosopher's Stone." "Philosopher's Stone," repeated Cornelia "Is that like a Sorcerer's Stone? Like the one Harry Potter told us about when we were in his dimension?"

"I think the two stones are the same thing," said Taranee, "Different universes, different names for the same object." "From what I know," said Hay Lin, "A Sorcerer's Stone, or in this case a Philosopher's Stone can change base metals into gold. It can also create the means to live forever."

"That's not exactly true," said Taranee, "The stone can create a substance called 'The Elixir of Life,' but once you drink it, you have to keep drinking it. If you stop, you die." "I wonder which it is they're looking to do with the stone," said Will, "Live longer, or become rich?"

"Neither," said Al who was standing behind Will. "How did you get over her without us hearing you in all that armor?" asked a startled Cornelia. "I can be quiet when I need to be," said Al, "As to why my brother and I need the Philosopher's Stone, we need it not for gold or to extend mortal life, we need it to make amends for a mistake."

Before Will could ask what mistake Ed and Al was trying to undo, the air rang out with a shout from Ed: "Damn it! Every time it's the same damn thing!" Will saw that Ed had just cleared through several books, the last one he threw to the ground in anger. "Easy, brother," said Al, "We'll figure it out somehow."

"Maybe, Al," said Ed, "But I'm starting to think it's impossible." "What?" asked Will, "What are you and Al trying to do?" "What we're trying to do," said Ed, "Is make a Philosopher's Stone without the need for human sacrifice."

"What?" asked Cornelia, Elyon and Taranee at the same time. "I'm not sure I heard you correctly," said Will, "But did you say that to make a Philosopher's Stone, you need a human sacrifice?" "That's right," said Al, "Every method of making a Philosopher's Stone my brother and I have come across specifically states that a large number of people must be killed in the process of making the stone."

"It's true," said Ed, "Some methods require the deaths of ten people, sometimes twenty, sometimes more." He pointed at the book he threw to the ground, "That last book stated that at least 100 people must die to create the stone." "No wonder Phobos had those books," said Cornelia to Elyon, "That sounds right up his alley."

"The mistake Al and I are trying to make up for," said Ed, "Was one we made long ago. However, and I can say this for Al as well as myself, I cannot, will not, shall not resort to cold blooded murder to undo that mistake."

"I can feel that this mistake has caused you and your brother much pain and grief," said Will, "If there's anything my friends and I can do to help you undo that mistake, whatever it is, we'll gladly help." "I appreciate the offer," said Ed, "But no thanks." "This is our burden," said Al, "My brother and I would prefer if nobody else were to get involved too much."

Just then a guardsman burst into the library. "My Queen!" exclaimed the guardsman, "Several demons have been seen attacking the outlying villages. Captain Vathek has requested that the army be sent to stop the monsters!"

"Find Caleb," ordered Elyon, "Tell him to assemble the army. March to the outlying villages and assist Vathek." Just then a second guardsman entered the library to report; "My Queen! Demons are attacking the city!"

"Change of plans," said Elyon to the first guardsman, "Tell Caleb to take only two thirds the army to assist Vathek. The rest are to stay in Meridian to fight these demons. Go!" "As you command!" beaked both guardsman, who then turned and left the library.

"I refuse to let this get any worse," said Elyon to herself, "I won't let my people be slaughtered like sheep." "They won't," said Will, "As soon as we find Irma, we're going out to the city and kick demon ass." Cornelia and Taranee nodded in agreement.

"Mind if we tag along?" asked Ed. "It can get pretty nasty fighting demons," said Taranee, "You sure you want to join in?" "Positive,"' said Al. "Then let's go," said Will as they left the library to face the invading demons.

The end of chapter 5. Next chapter, Will and the others learn something disturbing about Ed and Al as they fight the rampaging demons. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: 'Be Thou For The People'

Last time Irma apologized to Martin. Perhaps there's more to their relation than they think. Meanwhile Will and the others learned that Ed and Al were looking for how to create a Philosopher's Stone without the need for human sacrifice. The moment was interrupted when reports came in that demons were attacking the kingdom. On with the show!

Chapter 6: 'Be Thou For The People'

"My god!" exclaimed Will as she and the others exited the palace. She could see smoke rising from several locations in the city below. "How many demons are we talking about here?" asked Cornelia. "At least six from what I've been told," said Elyon, "But these things are huge."

Just then Irma came running out he front doors. "Sorry I'm late," said Irma, "What did I miss?" "There's about half a dozen huge and ugly demons rampaging in the city," said Taranee, "Just where have you been?" "Making up for harsh words," said Irma, "What's it to you?" "Never mind that," said Elyon, "Where's Caleb anyway?" "I'm right here," said Caleb as he and about 100 soldiers stood at the foot of the palace steps.

"Good," said Elyon, "Let's do it." "Wait!" exclaimed Martin as he ran down the steps to Caleb, "You can't go fight the demons yet, Caleb. There's something you'll need first. I just need fifteen minutes of your time." "What for?" asked Elyon. "I have something that'll give Caleb and your forces an edge against the demons," said Martin, "All I as is fifteen minutes to get it ready, that is, if you trust me."

"Of course I trust you," said Elyon, "So I'm gonna hold you to your words, Martin. Fifteen minutes." "We won't be late," said Martin as he and Caleb rushed back inside the palace.

"We're just going to have to keep the demons busy until they're done with whatever they're doing," said Elyon. "I hate to be the barer of bad news," said Al, "But I think the demons are coming towards the palace." Al spoke true, for the demons were weaving paths of destruction towards the palace.

"In that case," said Will as she pulled out The Heart of Candracar, "We'll just have to meet them first. Guardians Unite!" With a bright flash, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin had transformed into their Guardian outfits. "That was so cool!" exclaimed Al. "It was, impressive," said Ed. "If you enjoyed that," said Cornelia, "Then you ain't seen nothing yet!"

With that the Guardians took flight and flew towards the oncoming demons. "Hey wait for us!" exclaimed Ed as he and Al ran after Will and the others, leaving Elyon and the soldiers at the palace.

They met the demons at the edge of the city. Will and her friends had encountered many demons and other fell creatures during their careers as Guardians, but these demons were the most hideous yet: the creatures stood at well over seven feet in height; each had four arms, with four claws at the end of each limb. Their heads were attached to the body with little neck visible; each with three eyes, no nose and rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Well," said Taranee, "This should be interesting, at least." "Indeed," said Hay Lin. Just then Ed and Al caught up with them. "What kept you two?" asked Cornelia. "You five might be blessed with wings," gasped Ed, "But some of us need to run." "No wonder you're out of breath with such short legs," muttered Irma. Ed heard her however, "Don't make fun of my height!" yelled Ed. "What height?" asked Irma, "You have no height to make fun of. Get some height and I'll make fun of it."

"Save your anger for the demons, brother," said Al. "You're right, Al," said Ed as he hefted his spear. He glared at Irma, "To be continued," he said before he and Al charged at one of the demons. "He has issues, that one," said Irma referring to Ed. "Gee, you think so?" asked Cornelia as she and the others charged the oncoming monstrosities.

Taranee and Hay Lin teamed up on one of the demons. Hay Lin summoned a tornado around the monster, while Taranee fused the whirlwind with searing flames, transforming the tornado into a funnel of fire. When the flames cleared the demon was a charred, smoking hulk.

Cornelia summoned several thorny vines to trap one of the demons, while Irma drenched another. Will then sent several lighting bolts at the soaked demon, electrocuting it.

Will saw that Ed had already sliced the head off of one of the remaining demons. How Al had destroyed his demon was a bit more complicated: He drew a circle on the ground with a piece of chalk. The circle had several complex symbols in it. When the drawing was finished, Al held his gauntleted hands over the circle. Blue lines of energy raced from the circle towards the demon, when they reached the monster, large spikes seemed to grow from the ground, impaling the creature.

"How did you do that?" asked an amazed Cornelia. "I simply drew a transmutation circle on the ground," said Al, "Then I used alchemy to change the format of the ground under the demon." Al was so busy describing his attack; he didn't notice the demon rearing behind him until it was too late. The demon slashed at Al, he ducked, but his helmet caught the blow, knocking it off of him.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Hay Lin, "That thing took Al's head off!" "He's fine," said Ed in a tone that sounded like this sort of thing happened all the time. Taranee picked up the helmet, "There's no blood," she said in a disturbed tone, "in fact there's nothing in here at all." "There's also nothing in here as well," said Irma as she looked inside Al's armor, "No blood, no bones and no body! Why doesn't he have a body?"

"This armor is my body," said Al's voice, which came out of the empty armor, "Would you please give me back my head?" Taranee blinked before handing the helmet back to Al. He replaced it back on, "That's better; I really hate it when I lose my head."

Ed meanwhile had just finished slaying the demon that knocked Al's head off. He had removed his red coat; he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with white edges. The shirt was ripped on the right arm, yet there was no blood, for Ed's right arm was made of metal. His left pants leg was also ripped below the knee, yet again there was no blood for his flesh ended with the knee, and continued with metal.

"What?" asked Ed as he realized that everyone was staring at him. "Oh, you've noticed." "It's rather hard not to notice when your friend has two metal limbs," said Hay Lin. "Pardon my interruption," said Cornelia, "But what about that one?" she pointed at the demon she trapped with vines. "I got it," said Ed. He clapped his hands together and then placed his left hand on his metal right arm. There was a short flash of light, and a long metal blade hand extended from his arm. Ed walked up to the trapped demon and slashed its head off.

"That takes care of that," said Ed as he clapped his hands together again, he then returned his right arm back to normal, that is, if you can call having a metal right arm normal.

"Forgive me for asking so rashly," said Will to Al and Ed, "But would either of you happen to be the Fullmetal Alchemist?" "That would be me," said Ed, "That's the name I received when I earned my State Alchemist license. But how did you know that name?" "A strange man with these really weird glowing blue eyes told us to keep an eye out for you," said Taranee, "And to be honest, I thought you'd be taller."

Before Ed could reply to Taranee's comment a seventh demon reared up and was about to slash at Cornelia. She didn't have time to react, but the demon never got the chance to strike, for Caleb had just sliced off it's arms, his sword was glowing bright blue. Caleb then swung his sword again and removed the head of the demon.

"That takes care of that," said Caleb as the blue glow faded from his sword, he then turned to Cornelia, "Are you alright?" he asked. "I'm more than fine," said Cornelia as she embraced Caleb, "Now that you're here." They kissed. "I hate to interrupt the moment here," said Will, "But how did you get your sword to glow like that?"

"That would be my part," said Martin as he, Elyon and about 35 guards came down from the palace, "If you would set your eyes on his sword, specifically the part where the blade meets the hilt." Everyone looked to where Martin pointed out. At the point where the blade met the hilt was a metal device with a blue diode.

"This handy gadget," said Martin as he removed the device from Caleb's sword, "Enables Caleb, or whoever uses it, to channel their energy into whatever weapon the device is connected to. With the weapon charged with energy, said weapon can cut through even the toughest demon hide. I've been working on how to accomplish this ever since we first encountered Naruto and his fellow ninjas. It's still just a prototype, but once I get all the bugs worked out I can have one for every soldier and guard on Metamore"

"Now that's what I call cool," said Irma, "I've said you're smart, but you're a genius." "Why thank you," said Martin, "Oh divine goddess of the oceans." Irma promptly blushed at this.

"Is it me," said Hay Lin, "Or is Irma being a lot nicer to Martin all of a sudden?" "I guess she took the time to get to know the real him," said Will. "Looks like Elyon is going to win that bet after all," said Taranee to Cornelia. "Perhaps," said Cornelia, "But it's not Sunday yet. Irma still has time to come to her senses."

Meanwhile Elyon was speaking to Ed and Al. "I saw what you two did to help here today," she said, "How can I thank you for your assistance?" "It was no trouble," said Ed, "It's all part of the creed of the State Alchemist; 'Be thou for the people,' that applies to all the people, no matter what dimension we're in."

"I hope what happened here today isn't the normal for you girls," said Al. "We normally don't go looking for trouble," said Cornelia, "Trouble usually finds us." "I doubt these demons were the last of them," said Will, "When demons invade another dimension, they don't stop until they've done whatever they're supposed to do, or unless whoever sent them is either killed or at least defeated." "Then we can expect more of these things," said Ed, "Or things like them." Will nodded in agreement. "Trust me," said Will, "what happened today was only the beginning."

The end of chapter 6. Next chapter we shift views to the hellish dimension where Pai-Mey has been hiding and we learn of her latest diabolical scheme. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	7. Chapter 7: The Other Side of Hell

Last time several demons attacked Meridian. Will and the Guardians slew most of them, while Ed and Al dealt with the rest. Everyone was shocked to discover that Al had no body, that is, a body of flesh; while Ed had a metal arm and a metal leg. An uncounted demon was about to kill Cornelia, but was saved by Caleb, with the assistance of Martin's latest invention. On with the show!

_"In this world, is the destiny of man controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least, it is true that man has no control even over his own will…"_

from 'Berserk'

'_Or so they say'_

from me

Chapter 7: The Other Side of Hell

"Trust me," said Will, "what happened today was only the beginning." "Oh Will Vandom," said Pai-Mey Matoya, "You have no idea just what has begun." The former ninja from Konohamaru stood in a large cavern deep within the hellish dimension that was controlled by The God Hand. Several demons in various shapes and sizes were working all around her on several pieces of scientific equipment Pai-Mey wouldn't even try to understand. In front of Pai-Mey was a large glass sphere that showed the image of Will talking to Ed.

"If only you and your pathetic friends knew what was coming," said Pai-Mey out loud, "You would all be on your knees; begging the masters to put you out of your miserable lives." "That may be true," said a raspy voice from behind Pai-Mey, a voice that sounded like sandpaper. Behind the disgraced ninja stood the demon known as The Dadga Khan. The Dadga Khan wore a red cloak, which covered his cat like face. What could be seen from his hooded face were his purple eyes. Black feline paws grasped a gray staff that was inscribed with demonic symbols.

"I must congratulate you on the success of your device," said Pai-Mey, referring to a large metal construction in the middle of the chamber. The machine was composed of countless gears; cogs; pistons; levers; switches; wires, multi-colored diodes and other mechanical parts that Pai-Mey had never seen before. Connected to the top of the device was what appeared to be a large glowing ruby.

"I would have never conceived of building a device that can send demons directly to another dimension," said Pai-Mey as she admired the machine, "While at the same time disrupting the fabric of reality in other dimensions." "It is beautiful," said The Dadga Khan, "It took me almost 800 years to perfect the design, with another 300 to build the machine."

"And it's power source," said Pai-Mey, her gaze turning to the ruby-like stone at the top, "Is a Philosopher's Stone. How ever did you find it?" "I made this stone," said The Dadga Khan, "They're not that difficult to make. What makes it difficult for humans are the final ingredients; the death of several humans. Many humans find it impossible to take the life of just one human, let alone several. I however am not held back by such restraints."

"If only I had a Philosopher's Stone of my own," said Pai-Mey, "Those disgusting brats wouldn't have stood a chance against me the first time we crossed paths if I had one." "I can make one for you if you desire it," said The Dadga Khan, "They're really not that difficult to create. I shall need to make another one before too long." "How so?" asked Pai-Mey.

"The power of a Philosopher's Stone isn't infinite," said The Dadga Khan, "The more one uses it, the more quickly its power diminishes. I believe my next project shall be to devise a way to manufacture more than one stone at a time."

Just then one of the demons approached The Dadga Khan with a large folder full of papers, the demon had a rectangular body with very thin arms and one eye in its head. "My lord," said the demon, "The report for the initial trial of the dimensional transporter and reality disrupter device is complete and ready for your inspection." "Thank you, Jerry," said The Dadga Khan as he read the report.

"That's what you're calling the thing?" asked Pai-Mey, "A dimensional transporter and reality disrupter?" "Well that is what the device does," said The Dadga Khan, "If you can come up with a more catchy name, I'm all ears." A second demon approached The Dadga Khan, the one had a round body and a triangle shaped head. "My lord," said the demon, "Shall I prepare another batch of grunts for transportation?"

"Not just yet, Mr. Styx," said The Dadga Khan as he finished reading the report, "The targeting scanners are still out of alignment. We sent 30 warriors to deal with The Guardians; only seven arrived within 3 miles of their location. The rest were scattered throughout the planet. If the Guardians are to be eliminated, we need to overwhelm them to do so."

"It shall be done," said the demon called Mr. Styx, it bowed and returned to its duties. "Oh, and Jerry," said The Dadga Khan to the demon Jerry, "The pressure in the EPS turbines nearly reached 2,430 PSI. If the pressure goes above 2,600, the turbines shall rupture and explode. There's also the fact that the core temperature reached 4,800 degrees; it'll melt at 5,500 degrees. If the turbines don't explode, then the device itself shall be destroyed by its own heat."

"Forgive me my lord," said Jerry, "But the device needs more and more power to teleport, even more to disrupt reality. We need more efficient coolant to keep the core temperature down; as for the EPS turbines, we need stronger condensers to contain the pressure." "You shall receive the materials you need," said The Dadga Khan, "But I want the device fully operational within twenty-four hours." "It shall be done," said Jerry as he bowed and returned to his duties.

"It won't be much longer before your revenge is complete," said The Dadga Khan to Pai-Mey. "I'm not so sure," said Pai-Mey, "I've found it unwise to underestimate Will and her pathetic friends. Tell me, what do you think of the Guardians?" "The masters have their reasons for being concerned about the Guardians," said The Dadga Khan, "But I find them of little interest to me, except for the Earth Guardian, the blonde one."

"The one named Cornelia," said Pai-Mey, "What about her?" "You shall find out once she is mine," said The Dadga Khan, "Do what you wish with the others, but I claim the Earth Guardian as mine in body and soul."

The end of chapter 7. Next chapter we shift views back to The Bureau. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	8. Chapter 8: Other Views scene 2

Last time we looked into Pai-Mey and her new partner in chaos, The Dadga Khan. Apparently The Dadga Khan had developed a machine that can teleport demons to where he wants them to go, as well as disrupt the fabric of reality. To make matters worse, The Dadga Khan has his evil purple eyes set on Cornelia. On with the show!

Chapter 8: Other Views Scene 2

"I hope you're in a mood that's receptive to bad news, Max," said Violet as she found Max in The Bureau recreation room, "Because the time/space distortions are increasing by the hour." "I'm never in a good mood to receive bad news," said Max, "But that's beside the point. So any idea what's causing the distortions?" "I've several theories," said Violet, "And each one is wrong. But one this is certain, the distortions aren't natural. Someone or something is trying to unravel the fabric of reality."

"How is that possible?" asked Michael, "How can anything take reality apart?" "It is possible," said Violet, her hair already tied up with her ribbon, "If someone were to force an opening in the time/space continuum from one universe to another and keep that forced opening open, the effects of that opening can be felt in other universes. The process of forcing an opening between dimensions can be produced by a machine, but the amount of energy needed to force the opening would be astronomical."

"Well whatever is causing the distortions," said Jill, "It's up to us to stop them." "Sorry if I sound somewhat stupid," said Michael, "But what's the big deal about these distortions? What harm can they be?" "I'll tell you what harm they can be," said Tyler Spartan, younger brother of Aaron Spartan. A native of Ontario, Canada, Tyler, or just Ty to his brother, was about 20 years old, stood at 5'10, had black hair and light green eyes with just a hint of blue in them. He wore a white vest, which unfolded into a customized battle armor suit, earning him the nickname 'Alloy.' His brother Aaron was a brilliant doctor who was almost always at wits end with Max and the other Ramblers for all the damage they do to their bodies in battle.

"What's so dangerous about time/space distortions," said Tyler, "Is that they, of course, distort time and space. For example: a distortion can turn a rock into a puddle of mud. It can also temporally reverse time in a random location. If a person were to be standing inside a distortion, he or she could be killed, or worse, turned inside out and still be alive."

"From the data collected," said Violet, "The distortions are not only growing in number, they're also growing in size. Within three to four months at the latest, the distortions will be the size of New York City. By then it'll be too late; nobody will be left alive on the planet, not even cockroaches."

"So what do we do?" asked Laura. "It's simple," said Violet, "We determine the source of the distortions. Then we use my latest invention that I just finished; a dimensional transporter, which will teleport us to the source of the distortions, then we stop whoever is trying to rip reality apart."

"There's just one problem with your plan," said Jill, "When we go to stop the distortion, you, Violet, are staying here." "No," said Violet, "I'm coming with you." "No you're not," said Jill, "I told you that I didn't want to put you in danger." "You're not putting me in danger," said Violet, "I'm volunteering to go with you. Besides, who's gonna operate the return transporter to get you back here?"

"We'll discuss this later," said Max, "Right now we need to find out where the distortions are coming from. And since Virgil is still waiting for his new cyber eyes, I suggest that Violet be allowed to continue her work." "We'll finish this later," said Jill as she left the room. Violet then returned to the labs.

As the two girls left the room, in came Julie Eckheart, also called 'Hawkeye,' not only for her superb marksmanship, but also for her hawk shaped eyes. "You got to do something about Steve," she said to Max, "He won't stop winning about Dracula." "I did see Dracula," said Steve as she followed Julie into the room, "I saw him again last night." "You're really out to lunch," said Julie, "There's no such thing as Dracula."

"Actually there was a Dracula," said Klaus, "So to speak." "I'm not talking about the Transylvania Dracula," said Julie, "I'm talking about the vampire one, which doesn't exist." "If there's one thing you got to learn about The Bureau, Julie," said Laura, "Nothing in the world is as it seems. There really was a vampire named Dracula." "See!" exclaimed Steve, "Dracula the vampire is real, and I did see him! He wants my blood!

"Listen To Me!" exclaimed Max as she slapped Steve three times across the face, "Dracula the vampire is dead!" "How do you know?" asked Steve. "I should know," said Max, "I buried him." "What you talking about, Max?" asked Steve. "You heard me right," said Max, "I killed Dracula, and I'm gonna prove it to you. Pack a bag, we're going to Memphis."

"What's in Memphis, Tennessee?" asked Julie, "Besides a whole lot of Elvis fans." "It's where I buried Dracula," said Max. "Just when and how did you kill Dracula?" asked Tyler. "October 17, 2002," said Max, "I was in Memphis tracking down vampires when I ran into The Dark Prince himself. He tried to bite me, so I cut his head off. I then stuffed his severed head full of Wolfsbane and buried it under a large rock before the sun came up."

"Mind if I tag along?" asked Julie, "I wouldn't mind seeing the grave of Dracula." "Can I come to?" asked Tyler, "I've never been to Memphis, and since the world is going to end, I might as well enjoy what time is left."

"The world isn't going to end," said Max, "Not yet anyway. But I see no reason why you two can't come along." "Yes!" exclaimed Tyler, "I'll be ready to go in 20 minutes." With that Steve, Julie and Tyler left to go pack. "Some days," said Max to himself, "It just isn't worth getting out of bed." With that he left to pack as well.

The end of chapter 8. Next chapter we return to Metamore as the fight against the demons continue. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	9. Chapter 9: Winry

Last time we returned to The Bureau. The time/space distortions that Violet was monitoring were getting larger and there were more of them. If whatever is causing the distortions isn't stopped, the world will be destroyed. Meanwhile Max, tired of Steve's constant pestering over Dracula, told him that he's taking him, Julie and Tyler to Memphis to see the grave of Dracula. On with the show!

Chapter 9: Winry

Within six hours of the attack on Meridian, another group of demons were rampaging throughout the streets of the city. This time around there were only four: three of the creatures had a distinct resemblance to crabs, only these were ten feet tall and had two sets of claws. The fourth demon was a different matter; this one was more humanoid, except it had several octopus tentacles for arms and stood over thirty feet tall.

Caleb and the Royal Guard were able to handle the crab demons without too much trouble thanks to Martin's invention. The giant demon was again a different matter. Even with Ed and Al assisting them, Will and her fellow Guardians still had their hands full. They finally manage to slay the demon, but not without a lot of hurt. Hay Lin received several broken ribs when the demon grabbed her with one of its octopus tentacles and tried to crush her. Taranee managed to burn the tentacle off of Hay Lin, but then had her leg broken when another tentacle slammed her to the ground. Another tentacle dislocated Irma's arm.

Ed was trapped underneath some rubble from when the demon kicked a building to death. It was the combined efforts of Will and Cornelia that immobilized the demon. Al used his armored strength to snap the neck of the creature, which then dissolved into a puddle of slime. "I'm not cleaning that up!" complained Irma.

Al then ran to the pile of debris to dig out Ed. "Brother!" exclaimed Al, "Please be alright!" Al finally found Ed, his metal arm pinned beneath a large chunk of stone masonry. "I'm fine, Al," said Ed as his metal brother freed him from the debris. Ed tried to move his metal arm, but it wouldn't bend at the elbow, three of his fingers wouldn't move at all. "Great," sighed Ed, "Where's Winry when you need her?"

"Who's Winry?" asked Will later at the palace. Taranee and Hay Lin were being treated for their broken bones, while Irma had her shoulder fixed. "Winry Rockbell," said Ed, "She's the mechanic who helped outfit me with my Auto-Mail." "I assume that your arm and leg are examples of Auto-Mail," said Caleb.

"You got that right," said Ed, "Where I come from there are a lot of people who lost one or more limbs due to war and violence." How did you lose your limbs?" asked Cornelia, "If you don't mind my asking."

"The same way I lost my body," said Al, "We tried to use Alchemy to do an impossible task, something that is forbidden by the rules of Alchemy. For that, my brother lost his left leg, while my body was taken away from me. Ed then sacrificed his right arm to keep my soul from drifting into the void. What we did was the mistake we made, that is what we're trying to make up for."

Meanwhile Martin was helping Irma reset her shoulder. "Your arm has been knocked out of its socket in your shoulder," said Martin as he held her arm, "I'm going to push it back into place." "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Taranee, who then winced from the pain in her broken leg.

"I've taken several first aid classes," said Martin, "Along with CPR and a lot of other basic medical classes." He looked Irma in the eye, "This is going to hurt, but it'll hut even more if it isn't done." "I trust you," said Irma as she braced for the pain. With one quick movement, Martin slipped Irma's arm back into its shoulder socket. Irma gasped from the pain, but then smiled at Martin. "That didn't hut as much as I thought it would," she said. "Being a Guardian has its merits," said Hay Lin, "My ribs are already healing."

Later that night found Will and Cornelia in Elyon's study discussing the day's events. "Reports have come in from all over the kingdom," said Elyon, "At least 30 demons of various sizes and shapes were seen just after that earthquake felt earlier today. I think it's safe to assume that the earthquakes and the demons are related."

"Why do I have the nasty feeling that that bitch Pai-Mey Matoya is behind this?" asked Will. "Well who or whatever is behind the demons," said Cornelia, "We stopped the ones that attacked the city without too much damage, that is if you don't count Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin getting hurt." "They're on the mend the last I heard," said Elyon, "On another subject, I've received this message from Vathek," she then read a note from Vathek:

My Queen,

Forgive me for not being able to complete your request, but duty calls. Several demons have attacked the outlying villages, and I fear that the army will be too late in arriving to resolve the situation, I must do what I can until help arrives.

On a more positive note, I've received assistance from an unexpected source. I encountered a swordsman by the name of Guts today. When the demons began their attack, Guts slew one of them with just a single swing of his sword. The Black Swordsman, as Guts is known to his enemies, has agreed to assist in the destruction of the demons. When the outlying villages have been secured, and all the demons destroyed, I'll introduce Your Majesty to this most interesting warrior.

Again, my apologies for not being able to complete your request, I'll be sure to get some rest once the present crisis is resolved. Your ever-obedient servant,

Vathek

"The Black Swordsman," said Will, "There's a name of a person I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley." "I'd be afraid to be in a dark alley with anyone named Guts," said Cornelia.

"Oh, Cornelia," said Elyon, "From what I've seen from Irma and Martin, it looks like I'll be winning our bet any day now." "Dream on," said Cornelia, "Irma's only being nice to Martin because of how bad she felt after rejecting him. She'll snap out of it soon enough."

The next morning found Will checking on Taranee and Hay Lin. Hay Lin's ribs was almost healed, while Taranee was walking as if her leg never broke. Irma had full use of her arm again.

Meanwhile Martin had repaired Ed's Auto-Mail arm as best he could. "I'm amazed with your prosthetic arm," said Martin, "When fully repaired, it operates as a normal arm would without microcircuits and other advanced technologies. On my world the prosthetic limbs we have aren't nearly as functional as yours."

"Well on my world," said Ed, "They're a lot of Auto-Mail manufactures, but most of them make products that wouldn't last two minutes in a fight," he nodded towards his arm, "This is Rockbell Auto-Mail, the best by far."

Martin then finished working on Ed's arm, "I've done what I could, but it may not be enough." Ed tried to move his arm, it would only bend at the elbow about two thirds of the way it should, and two of his fingers still wouldn't move.

"Can you fight?" asked Elyon who was watching the whole time. Ed then clapped his hands together; he then used Alchemy to summon another spear out of the stone floor. "If I can use Alchemy," said Ed, "Then I can fight."

Just then one of the palace guards entered the room, "My Queen, someone has come through the Krell gateway." "What?" asked both Martin and Elyon. "It's true," said the guardsman, "The gate activated just as it did before and someone came through, a girl this time. She is currently waiting in the front hall. I believe she said that she knows someone named Edward Elric."

"I think I know who it is," said Ed, "I'm sure she's alright." Elyon hesitated for a second before saying, "Send her in." The guard saluted and exited the room. About three minutes later the guard returned with a girl of about Ed's age, carrying a large black bag. She had long light blond hair and blue eyes. Elyon thought the girl looked a bit like Cornelia.

"We've checked the bag," said the guardsman to Elyon, "Nothing but several tools." "Winry!" exclaimed Ed, "What are you doing here?" "I woke up this morning with the feeling that you needed me, Ed," said Winry as she glared at Ed's damaged arm, "It seems I was right." Before anyone could stop her, Winry reached into her bag, pulled out a large wrench and threw it at Ed. The wrench impacted Ed on the forehead.

"What was that for!" exclaimed Ed as he clutched his bruised forehead. "That," said Winry, "Was for mangling my grandmother's best Auto-Mail." "It's not like I had a choice in the matter," said Ed, "Al and I were fighting demons."

"There are demons as here as well?" asked Winry as she and Ed sat down at a nearby table. "They started attacking yesterday," said Ed as Winry began to work on his arm, "What do you mean 'here as well'?"

"Several demons attacked Central yesterday," said Winry, "Just after this minor earthquake hit the city. Just who tried to repair your arm? Whoever it was didn't do a good job."

"I believe introductions are in order, Ed," said Elyon, "If you don't mine." "Oh," said Ed, "Your Majesty, this is Winry Rockbell. Winry, this is Queen Elyon." "Please to meet you," said Winry.

"Now what's this about demons in Central?" asked Ed while Winry continued to repair his arm. "Well they were real demons," said Winry, "Real butt-ugly monsters. They killed a lot of innocent people and soldiers before Corneal Mustang and Major Armstrong stopped them." "I'm sure they did," said Ed, "I can just imagine Roy Mustang bragging on how he defeated the monsters, while Major Armstrong does his usual thing."

"Am I the only one who doesn't know what they're talking about?" asked Cornelia. "You're not," said Will, "But if the demons are attacking Ed's world as well, then we're up a certain creek without a paddle."

Winry meanwhile had finished repairing Ed's arm. "Just like new," he said as he moved his arm about, "You're the best, Winry." "I know," said Winry in a smug tone. _There's defiantly a resemblance between her and Cornelia_ thought Elyon.

Later on Ed and Al had introduced Winry to the others. Winry then told the others about the crisis on her world. "Now I'm convinced," said Will, "Pai-Mey is behind this somehow." "So what's to be done about the demons on both worlds?" asked Hay Lin.

"The demons here aren't that much of a problem," said Martin, "My invention is ready for mass production. I can have an energy device for every guard and soldier on the planet by this time tomorrow, assuming Elyon can use her magic to help speed up the mass production."

"I'd be more than happy to," said Elyon. "That takes care of that," said Ed, "As for the demons on my world, Will, would you and your friends like to see where Al, Winry and I come from?"

"I'd like that very much," said Will as Taranee and the other Guardians nodded in agreement, "But I'd like to bring a few other friends along. I just need to go get Matt." "Then that's that," said Will, "As soon as Martin's invention is ready for deployment and the boys are here, we'll go stop the demons on Ed's world."

The end of chapter 9. Next chapter, as Will and the other Guardians prepare to travel to Ed and Al's world, they come face to face with Guts, The Black Swordsman. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	10. Chapter 10: An Overdue Reunion

Last time, while helping the Guardians fight off another demon attack, Ed's metal arm was severally damaged. Winry Rockbell, a mechanic from Ed's world, arrived and repaired it. She told Will and the others that her home world was under attack by the demons. Will and the others agreed to help Ed and Al fight the demons on their world. On with the show!

Chapter 10: An Overdue Reunion

By mid-morning the next day Elyon had used her magic to help Martin make enough of his invention to equip every soldier on the planet. "With your energy channeling device," said Elyon, "The demons won't find this world so easy to destroy. You're a real hero, Martin." "I do only what I'm needed to do," said Martin, "And that's help out when I can."

"Now that Metamore is better able to protect itself from demons," said Taranee, "We're probably out of a job." "We're not obsolete yet," said Will, "We still need to stop the demons from where they're coming from. But first we need to stop the demons that are attacking Ed and Al's world, and for that, we'll need the boys help."

Will pulled out The Heart of Candracar in order to Fold back to Heatherfield to collect Matt, Eric and Nigel. But before she could do so, a guard announced that Vathek had returned.

In came Vathek, followed by a rather tall man in black armor and a huge sword strapped to his back. "My Queen," said Vathek as she bowed before Elyon, "once again forgive me for not being able to follow your request." "The situation was beyond your control," said Elyon, "You did the right thing."

"Thank you," said Vathek, "And it is my pleasure to report that the remaining demons have been destroyed, thanks to my friend here. May I present Guts, The Black Swordsman. Without his assistance the situation with the demons would have been much worse."

"I'm honored to meet you, Your Majesty" said Guts as he bowed, "Vathek has told me so much about you." "The honor is mine," said Elyon, "I am grateful for your assistance in the present crisis."

It was then that Guts noticed Will and the crystal. "So you're the new Keeper of The Heart of Candracar," said Gust to Will, "From what I'm told, you and your fellow Guardians have done a lot in such a short time." "You know about us?" asked Will. "I've crossed paths with several generations of Guardians in my time," said Guts, "Especially Nerissa's group. I'm sorry that she went down the path of darkness."

"So am I," said Will, "But she's been given another chance to do something with her life." _Who is this guy?_ Thought Will, _and how old is he? He doesn't look a day over twenty._

Will then introduced Guts to her friends. When she introduced Hay Lin, a small look of shock appeared on Guts' face. "Forgive me for asking," said Guts, "But are you in any way related to Yan Lin?" "She's my grandmother," said Hay Lin, "Do you know her?" "I did," said Guts, "Is there any way I can see her?" "That can be easily arranged," said Will. She then used the Heart of Candracar to Fold back to Heatherfield.

About an hour later Will returned with Matt, Nigel and Eric, whom she apprised on the situation, as well as Hay Lin's grandmother Yan Lin. "It's not possible!" said a shocked and surprised Yan Lin as she saw Guts, "You're still young!" "And you are still beautiful," said Guts.

"Okay," said Irma, "I'm lost." "I don't mean to be rude, Grandma," said Hay Lin, "But…" "I understand," said Yan Lin, "Guts and I had a rather special relation when I was a Guardian, in fact, there was a time when he could have been your grandfather. Back before Nerissa went insane with power, I met Guts when he was about to be slaughtered by a horde of demons. Actually, he was doing all the slaughtering. By the time Kadma, Halinor, Cassidy, Nerissa and I reached Guts, nearly all the demons were dead, killed by that huge sword of his. We fought many battles against the forces of darkness together, and for a time it looked that he would settle down with me. Then one day he just up and left."

"There are times when I wish I had stayed with you," said Guts, " It pained me to leave, yet that ship sailed long ago. Besides, you would have been killed if I did stay." "I told you then that it didn't matter if you were constantly being hounded by demons," said Yan Lin, "We could have defeated them together."

"Then we would have been fighting demons almost all the time," said Guts, "What kind of life would that have been for you? I told you that I'm used to always looking over my shoulder for demons out to destroy me. Would you have been able to live that way?"

"No," said Yan Lin, "And I did needed to be reminded of that." "And are you happy with the way your life has turned out?" asked Guts. "Yes," answered Yan Lin. "Then I did the right thing by leaving," said Guts, "And that's not an easy thing for me; I'd rather fight with my sword than run away."

"I hate to interrupt the Soap Opera here," said Irma, "But I think we're ready to go save Ed and Al's world from the demons." "What are you talking about?" asked Guts. "This could take a wile," said Will, "So everyone else grab a snack."

Will then spent the next 90 minutes explaining to Guts the situation with the demons so far: How the demons first tried to kidnap the children of Metamore for a sacrifice; that the leader of the demons was Pai-Mey; how Pai-Mey later teamed up with Nerissa to destroy Candracar; and that Nerissa was working for The God Hand. "So you think this Pai-Mey is behind the current demon attacks?" asked Guts. "It looks that way," said Will.

"Griffith," said Guts to himself, "You son of a bitch, you always did prefer to have others do your dirty work." "Who's Griffith?" asked Taranee. "A man who I once called my friend," said Guts, "Now he's my enemy. When I next see him, I'll kill him just like any other demon that gets in my way."

"Didn't Phobos tell us that one of the demons that make up The God Hand was human once?" asked Cornelia. "He did," said Elyon, "A man that betrayed his friends and comrades to demonic sacrifice." "Then it appears that we share the same enemy," said Guts, "I'd be more than happy to join forces with The Guardians again."

Shortly later Will and the others were back at the Krell Gateway. Ed and Al were using the many stone tablets around the pylons to reprogram the Gateway so that it would open back to their world. "The Gateway on our world," said Ed, "Was found about two months ago when a construction crew was digging the foundations for an office building. It didn't take long to figure out the pylon's function." "After the Gateway was activated," said Al, "My brother and I, along with several Alchemists used it to explore several dimensions." "Well I'm glad you found this one," said Will.

Meanwhile Winry and Martin were examining Gut's metal left arm. "This is amazing," said Winry, "It has the same features as Auto-Mail, but no chemical power source. It's all mechanical." "It has a socket for a repeating crossbow," said Martin, "And, I don't believe it, is that a cannon?"

Guts didn't say anything, but he smiled as he pressed a small lever on his arm. His hand swung down from his wrist to reveal a large barrel built into the forearm. Attaching a lanyard to his forearm, Guts pulled on the lanyard, which fired the shot from his arm cannon. "Sweet!" exclaimed Ed, "Why can't I have a cannon in my arm?" "You don't need a built-in cannon, brother," said Al, "You can use Alchemy to make one from a pile of scrap iron." "It'd be cool if I had one," pouted Ed.

Eventually Ed and Al activated the Gateway back to their world. "I'll go first," said Ed, "So that whoever's waiting back home knows that everyone else is coming through." With that Ed stepped through the Gateway.

Winry went next, followed by Will and Matt, Taranee and Nigel, Irma and Martin then Al. Meanwhile, Guts and Yan Lin were saying goodbye, again. "It was good to see you again, Guts," said Yan Lin, "I'm sorry it didn't work out between us." "No matter what dimension I'm in," said Guts, "No matter where I go, I'll never forget you." "You won't?" asked Yan Lin. "Never," said Guts, "You're too weird to forget, in a nice way I mean." "I suppose I'm a little weird," said Yan Lin.

Guts then went through the Gateway. Cornelia and Caleb were the only ones who were left to go through. "Do me one favor," said Elyon to Cornelia, "Just come back safe and in one piece." "I always do," said Cornelia. With that she and Caleb stepped through the Gateway, which closed after them. "Be safe my friends," said Elyon.

The end of chapter 10. Next chapter we arrive in the capital of Ed and Al's home. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	11. Chapter 11: Central

Last time Vathek introduced Guts, The Black Swordsman to Elyon and Will. As it turns out, Guts had a relationship with Hay Lin's grandmother, Yan Lin. But that's behind them now. Guts offered to join Will and the others when they go to Ed and Al's world to fight the demons there. With all the arrangements made our heroes went through the Krell Gateway. On with the show! 

Chapter 11: Central

To Cornelia, stepping through the Krell Gateway seemed like walking though an ordinary doorway. But upon emerging on the other side, she felt like she'd been compressed into something small, then was released. "That was trippy," said Irma. "I prefer Folding," said Will. "I actually miss the Portals," said Taranee, "Compared to that."

"You'll get used to it," said Ed, "Al and I made the trip a few times before." "How many?" asked Matt. "We visited seven dimensions before coming to yours," said Al, "So we've adapted by now."

Will and the others then noticed that they were standing under a large tent that was erected around the Gateway they went trough. Around them were several people in blue uniforms. Two of the uniformed people, a man and a woman approached Ed and Al. "Welcome back, Fullmetal Alchemist," said the woman as she and the man saluted Ed and Al. "It's good to be back," said Ed.

The woman had blond hair done up in a tight braid and had reddish eyes. The man was tall with short black hair and wore glasses. "This is Lt. Rise Hawkeye," said Al, indicating the man, "And Lt. Col. Maes Hughes." "Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Hughes. "Not exactly," said Ed, "But Al and I did find a lot of help against the demons."

Introductions were made between the two officers and Will and the others. "Hey Ed," said Winry, "I'm gonna head back home before my grandmother gets too worried." "Okay," said Ed, "I'll see you later." "Not if I see you first," said Winry, "And don't damage that arm again, unless you want another wrench in your face. I'm getting tired of fixing it for you."

"Before you leave, Winry," said Hughes, "Have you sent he latest pictures of my daughter?" Hughes then 'shoved' several pictures in Winry's face. "Isn't she the most adorable little girl in the world?" "Uh, yeah," said Winry, "Um, I got to leave now, so, why don't you show the pictures to Ed and Al?" "We've seen them," said Al.

Just after Winry left, a very large muscular man entered the tent. He also wore the blue uniforms that were present here. The man was at least 6 feet tall, nearly bald, and sported a very blond mustache. "Edward and Alphonse Elric!" exclaimed the man as he rushed over to Ed and Al, he grabbed both in each arm, "You've been back for over ten minutes and you haven't spoken to me! Your lack of courtesy is disgraceful in the eyes of the Armstrong family!"

"Good to see you too, Major," said an embarrassed sounding Al. "No offence Major," gasped Ed, "But I think you're crushing my spleen." "Forgive me Edward," said the Major in an overdramatic way as he released Ed and Al, "It was never my intention to cause bodily harm to you or your brother!" He then noticed Will and the others. "Oh, you have brought guests from the other side! Allow me to introduce myself; I am Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong-arm Alchemist!" "Pleased to meet you," said a slightly nervous Will. "That guy looks totally ripped," said Matt to Nigel. "Probably steroids," said Nigel.

"What!" exclaimed Major Armstrong, "What's that you said, boy!" "I, uh, err," stammered Nigel, "I thought that, I only assumed that you've used steroids, my mistake." "How dare you even assume that I would ever use drugs!" shouted Major Armstrong. He then ripped of the top half of his uniform to reveal more muscle on his torso and arms than Will or anyone from her Earth had ever seen on a man. "That guy's got more meat on his bones than you do, Guts," said a stunned Caleb. "Indeed," said a stunned Guts, "But can he handle a sword?"

"Look at this perfectly sculpted form of masculinity!" exclaimed Major Armstrong as he flexed his arms, "Look at it and tell me it was the result of drugs!" It's not," said a rather scared Nigel, "I'm sorry that I ever thought you used steroids." "He's a bit overdramatic," whispered Ed to Irma. "Oh really," whispered Irma back, "You think?"

"This vision of manly perfection is the end result of a muscular training system that has been passed down throughout the Armstrong family for generations!" exclaimed Major Armstrong, "Look at it! Look at this godly image before you! Look at it! LOOK AT IT!" "I'm looking at it for crying out loud!" exclaimed Nigel.

"If you keep intimidating my boyfriend like that," said Taranee, "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to hurt you." "I got this, Taranee," said Nigel, "I've seen your body enough, now please put it away, or else you'll see just how strong I am." "Little boy!" exclaimed Major Armstrong, "Do you honestly think you can go toe-to-toe with me? The Strong-arm Alchemist?"

"I reckon I can," said Nigel who was looking Major Armstrong in the eye without blinking. There was a minute of silence before Major Armstrong let out a loud and hearty laugh. "Well done, young man!" said Major Armstrong as she roughly patted Nigel on the shoulder, "Well done indeed!" "You okay?" asked Taranee as Nigel rubbed his assaulted shoulder. "That's gonna leave a mark," groaned Nigel.

Just then another man in a blue uniform came into the tent. This man had black hair and a slightly pale face. He had white gloves with red symbols oh his hands. "Another dead end I assume, Ed," said the man. "Hello Cornel," grumbled Ed, "Everyone, this is Col. Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Col. Roy Mustang, this is everyone."

"I see you brought back a lot of company," said Col. Mustang, "I hope they know what they're getting into here." "We've had a lot of experience fighting demons," said Will. Col. Mustang then noticed Guts. "That's a rather big sword on your back," he said, "I hope you know how to use it."

Guts unsheathed his sword for all to see it. "I've been training myself to handle bigger and heaver swords ever since I've learned how to walk," said Guts, "There isn't a part of my body that hasn't been cut, slashed or stabbed by a sword. I've been bitten, bashed around and thrown off cliffs. I've had every bone in my body broken at least three times by now. I've killed hundreds upon hundreds of men in the heat of battle, not to mention countless demons, so yes, I reckon I can handle it."

"Okay then," said Col. Mustang, "Let's get you young people situated. Major Armstrong, escort our guests to the nearest 5-star hotel. Ed, Al, debriefing in one hour." "Yes sir," said Ed and Al as they saluted Mustang. He saluted back and left with Lt. Hawkeye.

Will and the others were showed to several early looking automobiles and were driven to the hotel specified by Mustang. It was nighttime as they drove through the city. Central was a vast city that appeared to Will as what New York City must have looked like around the early 1920's: very little in the area of electronics, early looking automobiles, just to name a few. "Not a cell phone in sight," said a slightly disturbed Irma, "no I-pods, no PDA's, no laptops, I'll bet these people have never even heard of a computer. It's shocking."

"So this world is a couple decades behind ours in terms of technology," said Martin, "I find it a bit refreshing. It's a chance to study firsthand where we, mankind, came from."

When they reached the hotel Major Armstrong made sure that Will and her friends had the best. "Spare no expense," said Major Armstrong, "Put the bill in the care of Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong-arm Alchemist!"

Will and the girls had a two-bedroom suite, while Matt and the boys had a three-bedroom suite, with Guts staying with them. "Now this is more like it," said Cornelia as she sat on one of the beds. "It's pretty nice," said Irma, "Though I do wish there was cable TV, or any television at all." "This bathroom is bigger than my apartment!" exclaimed Will, "And that's saying something."

Meanwhile in the boy's suite Guts had removed his armor. "Holy cow!" exclaimed Eric as he saw the many scars than ran up and down Guts form, "You weren't kidding when Mustang asked you if you knew how to use that sword." "There are times when I wish I didn't have such vast experience," said Guts, "You guys take the beds, I'm used to sleeping on the floor." "You sure you want to do that?" asked Caleb. Guts nodded, "I'm a light sleeper anyway."

Half an hour later Matt knocked on the girl's room and asked if he could talk to Will alone. "Don't do anything too compromising!" called Irma, "We're in a public place!" "For crying out loud," said Will once she and Matt were out of earshot, "Ever since Pai-Mey blabbed that we were doing it, Irma's hardly let up about it." "Speaking of that," said Matt, "How about some extra curricular activities later on say, about around midnight?" "Perhaps," said Will, "So is that all you want to talk about?"

"It's Guts," said Matt, he then told Will about what he and the rest of the boys saw when Guts removed his armor. "This keeps getting weirder all the time," said Will, "And it's worse. If Yan Lin was right about knowing Guts when she was a Guardian, then Guts must be at least 60 years old."

"Yet he doesn't look a day over 21," said Matt, "Is it possible he's immortal?" "I don't know," said Will, "But I think we're gonna find out rather soon." She then started to head back to her room. "Uh, Will?" asked Matt, "Just asking, but were you serious about what I said about 'extra curricular activities?'" he asked in a hopeful tone. "You'll find out around midnight," said Will as she gave Matt a sly wink.

Meanwhile at Central military headquarters, Ed and Al had just finished telling Mustang all that had happened while they were on Metamore. "You're sure this Pai-Mey Matoya is behind the demons attacking our world and the dimension you visited?" asked Mustang. "Will and her friends are certain of it," said Ed, "I see no reason not to believe as they do on the matter."

Mustang stood up from his desk and looked out the window before saying, "What I'm about to tell you two is top secret. I'm only telling you on orders from Fürer Bradley himself. The demons that attacked Central were only the tip of the iceberg. Several more were reported seen up north. The Fürer ordered you two to 'take care of the situation,' as he said. You are authorized to use whatever resources you need."

"I think Al and I have all that we need," said Ed. "But I think it would be a good idea to have Will and her friends come with us to fight the demons," said Al, "They do have a lot of experience in the matter." "I see no problem," said Mustang, "From the reports I've read, you're going to need all the help you can get. Get some sleep boys; your train north leaves at 10:00 a.m. sharp." Mustang then saluted Ed and Al, they saluted back.

"That guy really gets my goat, Al," grumbled Ed as he and Al left the building, "One of these days he's gonna get it from me." "The Cornel is just doing his job, brother," said Al, "And so are we. Who knows, maybe we'll find out to make a Philosopher's Stone from this experience." "Maybe," said Ed, "Maybe not."

The next morning found Will and the others getting ready to head out for the demons. "Where were you last night around midnight?" Cornelia asked Will. "I couldn't sleep," said Will, "So I went for a walk." "That's not what I heard," said Taranee, "Either I was dreaming, or I heard you kissing Matt goodnight sometime around 1:00 a.m."

"So what if Matt and I had a 'after-hours excursion,'" said Will, "It's not like you and Nigel haven't done anything like it. Or are the two of you still at the stage where you're each taking turns tying each other up?" At this Taranee blushed severely.

"You're kidding!" exclaimed Cornelia, "You and Nigel have done the dirty deed?" "Well," said Taranee, "Yes we did. And I'm proud that we love each other so much that we want to express our love physically, and before you ask, we did use protection."

"Well that's your prerogative," said Irma, "We all live in a free country. So you and Will go right on ahead and fornicate to your hearts content. Me, Hay Lin and Cornelia are sticking to the value of waiting until marriage, right girls?" "Right," said Cornelia. "Well, um, err," said Hay Lin who was also blushing.

"Oh no," said Irma, "You to?" Hay Lin hesitated for a second before nodding. "With Rock Lee?" asked Taranee. Blushing even more, Hay Lin nodded again. "When?" asked Will. "During winter break," said Hay Lin, "I visited Lee for the weekend. It gets very cold in Konohamaru during winter nights. The power was out from a sudden snowstorm. We both wound up in the same bed to keep warm. One thing led to another, and we did it, and yes, we did use protection, all three times."

"Three?" asked an amazed Cornelia. "Then three more the next morning," continued Hay Lin, "And another two before I went back home. I think I've found the man I'm gonna marry."

"Well that's just great," said Irma, "Cornelia and I are the only ones in the group who haven't been deflowered, unless," she glared at Cornelia, "Have you and Caleb been doing anything naughty behind my back?" "No!" exclaimed Cornelia, "Caleb and I aren't like that, we both agreed to wait until marriage. We're gonna wait until I'm 18, then he'll ask my mom and dad if we can get married, get married and then we'll screw until our hearts content."

Meanwhile…

"Just what were you doing sneaking out in the middle of the night?" Eric asked Matt. "None of your business," said Matt, "And I'll thank you not to butt into my business." "I'm just asking," said Eric defensively.

"A word of advice," said Guts as she strapped on his armor, "Women can be a pain in the ass some times, it's best not to rush things." "What are you talking about?" asked Matt, "I love Will very much. As soon as we've finished high school I'm gonna ask her mom if Will and I can get married." "I'm just saying you kids should take things one step at a time," said Guts.

"How would you know?" asked Nigel. "Because I've been there," said Guts, "Fate can be cruel when it comes to love. One minute you're the happiest you can ever be, the next you've find that it's all been taken away from you." "Pessimistic," whispered Martin to Matt, "Ain't he?"

At 9:50 a.m. Will, the girls, the boys and Guts met Ed and Al at the Central train station for their trip north. "It's about two days ride up to where the demons have clustered," said Ed, "So we'll just sit back and watch the sentry go by."

"Since we've so much time before we get there," said Eric, "I feel we should put that time to good use. I want you to teach me Alchemy." "What?" asked Ed. "You heard me," said Eric, "I've stood on the sidelines while my friends have risked their lives and souls. I'm not a natural warrior like Caleb or Matt, nor do I have super strength like Nigel, or super intelligence like Martin. But I want to help, so teach me Alchemy."

"It's not that simple," said Al, "Not everyone can be an Alchemist." "We'll never know if I'm one or not if we don't try," said Eric, "I want to help fight the demons. I don't need to be at the same level as you two, just teach me enough so I can at least do something to help."

Ed and Al had a quick whispered discussion before answering. "Okay," said Ed, "We'll try to show you the basics of Alchemy, but no promises that you'll actually be able to do Alchemy in just two days." "I'll try," said Eric, "I'm a fast learner." With that our heroes boarded the train, which departed for the north at 10:00 a.m. on the dot.

The end of chapter 11. Next chapter we switch back to Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan as they get an unwelcome visitor. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	12. Chapter 12: A Warning

Last time Will and the others arrived on the home dimension of Ed, Al and Winry. The demons on that world had concentrated far to the north of Central, the capital of Ed and Al's nation. While preparing to head out, Taranee and Hay Lin admitted that they did it with their respective boyfriends, leaving Cornelia and Irma the only ones willing to wait for marriage. Before heading north, Eric asked Ed and Al to teach him the basics of Alchemy so he can be more help against the demons instead of a spectator. On with the show!

Chapter 12: A Warning

Back in the inner lair of The Dadga Khan, Pai-Mey was on the verge of a tantrum. "Where did they go!" she raged, "One minute Will and her pathetic friends were on Metamore, the next they're not! They didn't go back to Earth, so where are they!"

"Patience Pai-Mey," said The Dadga Khan, "There's no place the Guardians can go that my tracking device cannot find them. It's only a matter of time before they are located. Then we'll finish them once and for all. Have you found the Guardians yet, Xellos?"

The demon named Xellos, who was working at the tracking device turned around to face The Dadga Kahn. "No offence master," said Xellos, "But this would go a lot faster if you weren't asking me that every five minutes." "My apologies Xellos," said The Dadga Khan, "Carry on."

"You and your minions are more refined than other demons I've encountered," said Pai-Mey. "My self and my employees have been blessed with more intelligence than other acolytes of The God Hand," said The Dadga Khan, "Our methods of chaos are more refined than others."

Just then a demon named Racorw whispered something to his master. "When did they find the body?" asked The Dadga Khan. "About ten minutes ago," said Racorw, "We didn't want to disturb you until we could fully identify what was left of the body." "You did the right thing," said The Dadga Khan, "Call the guards, have them restrain the imposter; I want him alive for questioning." Racorw bowed and left to carry out his orders.

"What's going on?" asked Pai-Mey. "You see the technician working the consul second on the left? The one called Serato?" asked The Dadga Khan. Pai-Mey noted the demon in question; this one had three arms and five eyes in its head. "Apparently his body was found not too long ago," said The Dadga Khan, "or what was left of him. What we have here is a spy in my organization, and the one thing I hate above all else is a spy in my mists."

Just then the technician working the scanning device called out to The Dadga Khan, "Master! I've found them!" Pai-Mey rushed over to the scanning device to see Will and her friends boarding a train." So they've Folded to another dimension," said The Dadga Khan, "One where I've already sent several troupes to stir up some chaos." The Dadga Khan then called forth the demons Jerry and Mr. Styx. "Prepare another group of grunts for transport," ordered The Dadga Khan, "As soon as we've solved the problem with Serato send them to finish off the Guardians."

Jerry and Mr. Styx bowed and left to carry out their orders. "Who's that with the Guardians?" asked Pai-Mey, "The short blond boy with the red coat I mean." "I don't know," said The Dadga Khan, "But that tall man with the huge sword on his back seems familiar somewhat. It matters not, they shall all be dead soon enough."

Less than a minute later Serato was brought before The Dadga Khan, several demon guards flanked it. "Master," said Serato, "I've done nothing to upset you, why am I being treated like this?" "You can start by telling me who you really are," hissed The Dadga Khan.

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Serato, "Is this some kind of loyalty test?" "Don't try to out-weird me!" shouted The Dadga Khan, "I've gotten stranger things for free in my breakfast cereal! Now who are you and who sent you to spy on my operations?"

"I am Serato," said the demon, "Your loyal technician." "Cut the crap!" shouted The Dadga Khan, "We found what was left of the real Serato. Now who sent you? Was it Skull Knight? The Cenobites? Tell me and I'll make sure your death is quick and relatively painless."

"Then there's no point in continuing this charade," said Serato. A ring of white light formed around the demons' torso and split into two rings, one traveling up, the other down. When the rings faded Serato was gone and was replaced by a short man in a black sleeveless shirt and black shorts. He had long spiky green hair. Tattooed to his chest was what appeared to be a red snake wrapped around a crucifix.

All around Pai-Mey the demons were glaring at the imposter with a mixture of hate and fear. She could hear several of the demons growing in rage while a few were whispering what sounded like "abomination!"

"So you managed to infiltrate my inner-most sanctum," spat The Dadga Khan, "Congratulations, you're dead!" "It would be wise to hear what I and my comrades have to say," said the green-haired person, "Oh, my name is Envy by the way, and standing behind you and your lady friend are my friends; Gluttony and Lust."

The Dadga Khan and Pai-Mey turned around to see a man and a woman standing behind them. The man was slightly shorter than Pai-Mey yet extremely fat. He was completely bald, had a large nose, huge arms and eyes completely white. The woman was a bit taller than Pai-Mey. She wore a long black revealing dress. She had long black hair, a pale face and black colored eyes. Tattooed above her left breast was the same symbol as Envy.

"Three of you," said The Dadga Khan, "I'm impressed that you filth had the nerve to come into our world." "Say what you wand about our kind," said Envy, "All I ask is that you hear what we have to say. Do what you wish after that, I won't try to stop you." "Very well then," said The Dadga Khan, "Speak!"

"The Elric brothers," said the woman named Lust, "Edward and Alphonse." "What about them?" asked Pai-Mey. "They are not to be harmed," said Lust, "Not yet anyway. It would be in your best interest to leave them alone for now."

"And just who are these Elric brothers that I should stay away from them?" asked The Dadga Khan. "You've already seen one of them," said Envy, "he's that short blond kid in the red coat. His brother Alphonse is nothing more than a human soul bounded to a suit of armor. They shouldn't be that hard to identify. So in short, stay away from the Elric brothers or else."

"Or else what?" growled The Dadga Khan. "Or you'll find yourselves in more trouble than you've ever bargained for," said Lust. "You know what," said Pai-Mey as she drew a kuni knife from behind her back, "I don't have to take this sh$t from you or anyone!" She threw the knife at Lust, who caught the knife less than an inch from her pale face.

"Not bad," said Lust, "I feel that a demonstration of our power is necessary to get the point across!" With that, very long black fingernails grew from Lust's left hand. She pointed her hand at Pai-Mey and the nails continued to grow at an alarmingly fast pace. Pai-Mey narrowly avoided being impaled on the nails.

"Not bad at all," said Lust as her nails retraced back to her hand, "You truly are a skilled ninja." "You ain't seen nothing yet," said Pai-Mey as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. She reappeared behind Lust and stabbed her with two kuni knives. "Lust!" exclaimed Gluttony, "My precious Lust! What have they done to you?"

"I'm fine, Gluttony," said Lust as she pulled out both knives. To Pai-Mey's shock the wounds she inflicted seemed to vanish. "Not bad at all," said an impressed Lust, "But I still feel that another demonstration is in order. Gluttony, take a bite out of one of the demons." "With pleasure," said Gluttony, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Pai-Mey could see the same snake symbol tattooed to the tongue.

Despite his huge shape, Gluttony soon had one of the demon technicians cornered. Before anyone could do anything, Gluttony had bitten off half the demons' right arm. He opened his huge mouth to take more when he was stopped by Envy, "That's enough Gluttony!" exclaimed Envy, "We've made our point."

"Since we've settled that problem," said Lust, "I suggest that you seriously heed our warning. If you do then you'll never see us again. If you don't, then we'll be back. Remember; stay away from the Elric brothers. Envy, Gluttony, let's go." "But I'm still hungry!" whined Gluttony. "So we'll get you some cheeseburgers when we get home," said Envy, "And some milkshakes, but let's go already! This place stinks!" "Ooh milkshakes!" smiled Gluttony, "Very good day!"

With that Gluttony hurried after Envy and Lust as the left the room, leaving Pai-Mey, The Dadga Khan and the demons in stunned silence. It was The Dadga Khan who snapped everyone back to normal, "Don't just stand there! Go after them!" several demons guards then ran after Lust, Envy and Gluttony.

"Are you alright?" asked The Dadga Khan to Pai-Mey. "I'm unharmed," said Pai-Mey, "Though I can't say the same for your technician there." The assaulted demon was grasping the newly formed stump of his violated arm. "That thing!" it exclaimed as other demons cared to it's injury, "That freak! It was eating me!" "Master!" exclaimed the demon guards as they returned to the room, "The abominations have disappeared!"

"What were those creatures?" asked Pai-Mey. "Homunculi," said The Dadga Khan, "False humans created when someone is foolish enough to use Alchemy to attempt to bring the dead back to life. That is why we who serve The God Hand never use Alchemy to resurrect the dead; we have other methods to restoring life to that which had it taken away from."

"So what is to be done?" asked Pai-Mey, "It's more than obvious that these Elric Brothers have joined forces with the Guardians." "We continue as if this incident never happened, "Only when we send this next batch of grunts, we order then to attack the Guardians and only the Guardians. If these Elric Brothers get in the way, it's their funeral." "I truly enjoy the way your twisted mind works," said Pai-Mey, "I only wish we joined forces before."

"Yes," said The Dadga Khan, "If only. However, I won't be satisfied until the Earth Guardian is mine and the others are dead, and to make sure of it, I shall join the next batch of grunts we send against the Guardians." "You still haven't told me why you want that blond bimbo," said Pai-Mey, "What's so special about her?" "All in good time, Pai-Mey," said The Dadga Khan, "All in good time."

The end of chapter 12. Next chapter Will and her friends learn the story behind Ed and Al. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	13. Chapter 13: The Brothers Elric

Last time we returned views to Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan. Just before they were about to send another group of demons to attack Will and the others, the process was interrupted by three intruders; thee homunculi with the names Envy, Lust and Gluttony. The homunculus named Lust warned Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan to stay away from Ed and Al. The homunculi then demonstrated their power, then left. On with the show!

Chapter 13: The Brothers Elric

"I am so bored!" whined Irma, "Can't this train go any faster?" After the first day on their trip north the Guardians and the boys were suffering from cabin fever, especially Irma. The exception was Eric who was excelling under the tutelage of Ed and Al. "This is beyond belief," said Ed, "In one day, you've learned what takes years to do so, sometimes decades."

"I told you I'm a fast learner," said Eric, "Now when the demons show up next I can do my fair share of the fighting for once." "He's serious," said Caleb to Matt, "He really wants to be more involved. "I just thought he was trying to get back together with Hay Lin," said Matt. "Not likely," said Martin, "From what I've heard, she's all but engaged to Rock Lee."

"That reminds me," said Matt, "What's this I hear about Irma being nice to you for a change? You didn't happen to brainwash her or something?" "I would never brainwash Irma!" exclaimed Martin, "I don't need to; I've got enough male charm to do the job. Besides, my brainwashing invention won't be ready for at least six months. Then I shall rule the world!" "I hope he's joking," said Caleb. "Oh he's joking," said Nigel, "Or at least I hope he's joking."

Meanwhile Will was just about to ask Ed something that's been on her mind. "I don't mean to sound rude, Ed," said Will, "But I've been wanting to ask you something. You told us that you lost your limbs and Al lost his body because of a mistake, that you're trying to get what was lost back by a Philosopher's Stone. What I want to know, and you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, is what was that mistake?"

"I'd like to know that as well," said Matt, "What kind of mistake was so great as to cost you your limbs and Al his entire body?" Ed sighed before saying, "I knew you were gonna ask that sooner or later. I'll tell you, if you're okay with it, Al." "I'm fine with telling our story, brother," said Al, "I'll tell my part, but you'll have to fill in on the parts that I don't remember."

"Okay then," said Ed, "It's a long story, good thing we've got about a day to go before we reach our destination." Al then began: "I guess the whole thing began when our father left home, leaving our mother to raise us alone. Our mom, Trisha, was the most kind and caring person I've ever known." "While our dad," interrupted Ed, "Hohenheim, was a complete jerk!" "Dad wasn't a jerk," said Al. "He was a jerk for walking our on us and mom," said Ed, "If I ever see that creep again, I'm gonna bash his brains in!"

_I can identify with Ed,_ thought Will, _There are times when I have issues with my dad. _"Anyway," continued Al, "My brother and I displayed a natural talent for Alchemy. When I was five and my brother 6 we could use alchemic techniques that take years to perfect. We mostly used Alchemy for trivial things like making toys and ornaments. Our mom was delighted that we inherited dad's talent for Alchemy.

"Then one day the unthinkable happened; our mom became gravely ill. The doctors said it was only a matter of time before the end, so my brother and I wrote to several people our dad knew, hoping that one of them would find dad and tell him to come home before it was too late."

"We never got a single reply," said Ed, "And before we knew it mom died. It was like someone ripped out my heart and then put it back in upside-down, mom was everything to us."

"We didn't know what to do," said Al, "I was 9 and Ed 10. How were we to carry on alone? That's when my brother and I decided to do something about the situation; we would use Alchemy to bring mom back."

"When you mean bring her back?" asked Taranee, "You mean restore her body to life?" "No," said Ed, "We would make her a new body and then restore her soul to that body. Al and I spent the next year learning every thing we could about Alchemy. We finally thought we knew enough to create life." He pulled out from his coat pocked a well-worn notebook that had several bookmarks in it. Ed opened the book to a page and read from it:

"Water 35 liters; carbon 20 kilograms; ammonia 4 liters; lime 1.5 kilograms; phosphorus 800 grams; salt 250 grams; saltpeter 100 grams; sulfur 80 grams; fluorine 7.5 grams; iron 5 grams; silicon 3 grams; and trace amounts of 15 other elements," he closed the book and returned it to his pocket, "That's the chemical makeup of the average human adult."

"We didn't care about the consequences of what we were doing," said Al, "It is forbidden to attempt human transmutation of any kind, wither altering a human to make him or her better or to bring the dead back to life. We didn't care; all we wanted was mom back. We had all the ingredients ready; the transmutation circle was drawn with every detail. We thought we could do it, that we could really bring mom back. What my brother and I did wrong was underestimate the price we would pay."

"Al and I thought that a few drops of our blood was enough to create life," said Ed, "We thought that the pain of mom's death was enough of a price to bring her soul back. We were wrong. Once a transmutation circle has been activated the Alchemy must finish it's task, the small amount of blood we used wasn't enough, so we paid in full; I had my left leg taken away, Al lost his entire body. I was then prepared to pay with my life to save Al from disappearing all together. It was my idea in the first place to bring mom back, I didn't want Al to suffer for my obsession. I ended up paying with my right arm to keep Al's soul in this existence."

"What about your mom?" asked Caleb, "I guess it didn't work." "In a way it did," said Ed, "Al and I had succeeded in creating life where there was none before. The result was alive, but less than human. I didn't see what happened next, I had passed out from the loss of blood. But as far as I know, what Al and I created that night died before morning, and I hope it did."

"That is the mistake we made," said Al, "We underestimated the price of creating life. Now my brother and I are trying to atone for that mistake by making a Philosopher's Stone without the need for human sacrifice."

"I can't even begin to imagine the level of suffering you two have gone through," said Hay Lin, "Having your dad walk out on you, your mom taken away, that would be more than I could handle."

"You two boys have suffered," said Guts, "But there are levels of suffering beyond your darkest nightmares." "Let me guess," said Nigel, "You've experienced them." "Not all of them," said Guts, "But a good many of them." "Care to tell us about it?" asked Irma. "I've been wondering about that," said Matt, "Just how did you lose your arm and eye?"

Guts was about to answer when he suddenly tensed, his right hand flying to his neck. When he pulled his hand away the palm had some blood on it. Half a second later the train shuddered, the brakes' screeching like there was no tomorrow. Once the train had stopped, Ed rushed to a wall mounted telephone, "What happened?" he yelled into the receiver. He got his answer and hung up, "There's a huge demon sitting on the tracks," said Ed, "Its just sitting there chewing on a cow."

Will and the others got off the train to see the demon. It was over forty feet tall, covered in yellow scales, with a bird-like face and insect claws. "This won't take long," said Guts as he unsheathed his sword. "Wait," said Will, "It's just sitting there." "So?" asked Guts. "So not every confrontation with a demon has to end with a fight," said Hay Lin, "Perhaps we can talk to this one."

"It's a f#ck$ng demon," said Guts, "If we don't kill it now it'll just go on a rampage and we'll have to deal with it later." "It won't hurt to try to talk to it," said Will, "Irma, you go talk to it."

"Why me?" asked Irma. "Because you're a nice person who's in an extra good mood today," said Cornelia. "I don't think so," said Irma, "And before you say it, I don't care anymore if you tell my parents about the incident with Andrew Hornby. Nor do I care if everyone at school knows about it. You can't blackmail me with that incident any more, Miss Oh So Blond and Pretty, I just don't give a damn."

"That may be true," said Taranee, "But I seem to remember another incident, one which occurred at the start of the school year. You wanted to try out for cheerleading and twisted your ankle just before tryouts." "I remember," said Irma, "So what?" "So," said Taranee, "I have pictures of you practicing in front of your mirror, pictures which might be rather compromising if they were to be circulated at school."

Irma glared at Taranee before saying, "'_Et tu',_ Taranee? All right, I'll do it, but on two conditions. One; Hay Lin comes with me." "Why?" asked Hay Lin. "Because it would make me feel better if someone I can trust was with me. Two; the second, and I mean the second we get home, you," she pointed at Taranee, "Are gonna rip up those pictures and burn the negatives, understood?" "Understood," said Taranee.

"Okay then," said Irma, "Let's do this." She and Hay Lin slowly walked towards the demon. They shortly were joined by Martin. "Why are you doing this with us?" asked Irma. "I feel that you've been mistreated," said Martin, "I would never blackmail you for anything. I just want you to feel better. Oh by the way, it's a shame you missed cheerleading tryouts, you would have been great."

"You think so?" asked Irma. "You bet," said Martin, "And you would have looked incredible in a cheerleading outfit, a goddess." "I have this distinct feeling that I'm about to lose my bet with Elyon," said Cornelia to herself.

Meanwhile Hay Lin, Irma and Martin had reached the demon. "It looks a lot bigger up close," said Hay Lin, "Well, go on Irma, Talk to it." "Okay then," said Irma. She cleared her throat before yelling up to the demon, "Hey! You up there! Would you mind moving so we can get going down here? We're running late somewhat!"

The demon stopped chewing it's meat, stood up from the tracks and looked down at Irma. "Are you a Guardian?" it asked in an oddly high-pitched voice. "Um," said Irma, "Yes." "THEN DIE!" roared the demon as it shot a dark red energy beam from its claws towards Irma. Martin barely pulled her out of the way.

Meanwhile Ed and Al had rushed towards the demon, followed by Guts, his sword drawn and ready. Before either of them reached the demon, it began to sink into the ground. Puzzled, Ed and Al looked behind them to see Eric, a piece of chalk in his hand. He had drawn a circle on the ground, a circle with several symbols in it.

"What did you do?" asked Will as she and the others caught up. "I used Alchemy to change the ground the demon was standing on; I changed it from solid to quicksand." "You are a fast learner," said Ed.

"Irma," said Hay Lin, "The next time a demon asks if you're a Guardian, it might be a good idea to say no." "I'll keep that in mind," said Irma as she looked at Martin, who was looking back at her. "I thought you were going to die," said Martin. "I probably would have," said Irma, "If you hadn't pulled me out of the way. I guess I owe you." "You could say that," said Martin. They moved closer to each other. First Martin closed his eyes, the Irma. Times seemed to slow down as their lips touched.

"Oh my god," said Taranee, "It finally happened!" After about ten seconds Irma and Martin broke their kiss. "I really do care about you, Irma," said Martin. "I care about you to," said Irma. She suddenly burst into laughter and shouted, "I love this man! I love him! I love him."

"Better late than never," said Will. She then saw that Cornelia was looking somewhat down. "Why so gloomy? Asked Will, "Aren't you happy for Irma?" "I am happy for Irma," sighed Cornelia, "But it's before Sunday, she couldn't have waited until Monday. I should have known it would turn out this way; fifty bucks down the drain."

Meanwhile in Meridian, Elyon was going over some papers with Vathek when she suddenly smiled for no apparent reason. "Is everything alright my queen?" asked Vathek. "I'm fine," said Elyon, "I've just got this feeling that I've won my bet with Cornelia."

"I don't mean to ruin your good mood, Irma," said Matt, "But the demon is still alive." Indeed the demon was at that time trying to free itself from the Quicksand. "It won't be alive for long," said Guts, "I told you that you just can't talk to these things and expect to get anywhere with them."

As Guts approached the demon, it saw him and glared at him. "You!" exclaimed the demon, "I matters not that you kill me. The God Hand shall receive their long delayed sacrifice soon enough. It is only a matter of time before this world and other worlds fall to glorious chaos!"

"Perhaps," said Guts as he readied his sword, "But you won't be around to see it!" With one swing of his enormous sword, Guts split the demon in half from top to bottom. The remains of the demon shortly dissolved into a puddle of black slime. "Disgusting!" remarked Eric. "I'm still not cleaning that up!" exclaimed Irma.

"What did that demon mean about a long delayed sacrifice?" asked Will as Guts wiped his sword on the ground to get the demon blood off of it.. "And why was your neck bleeding earlier?" asked Taranee. "It's not bleeding now," said Guts as he returned his sword to his back.

"But why was it bleeding in the first place?" asked Caleb. Guts sighed before saying, "Alright, I'll tell you my story, but don't blame me if you have nightmares for the rest of your lives." "I'm not afraid of nightmares," said Ed, "Oh, the train is ready to go again, so let's get aboard already." With that everyone boarded the train and it continued north.

The end of chapter 13. Next chapter, Guts tells his story. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	14. Chapter 14: The Legend of Guts

Last time Ed and Al told Will and her friends their story. Shortly after that a demon stopped the train they were on. Eric displayed his new Alchemy abilities and disabled the demon. Guts then killed the demon. Will and the others pestered Guts to explain himself. Oh yes, Irma finally confessed her love for Martin. (note: For all you fans of **Berserk**, if I get Guts' story wrong in some places, I apologize in advance). On with the show!

Chapter 14: The Legend of Guts

"You wanted to know my story," said Guts as the train continued north, "I'll tell you, but I warn you, you may not like it. First of all, how old do you think I am?" "You look not a day over 21," said Hay Lin, "But if you knew my Grandmother when she was a Guardian, then you must be at least 60, maybe 70."

"Try over 400," said Guts. "400?" asked Cornelia, "No way!" "What's your secret?" asked Martin. "It's this thing," said Guts as he pointed out what appeared to be a brand of some sort on the back of his neck. The brand looked like one diamond atop another, with the top one partly open at the very top. A vertical line ran down the center of both diamonds.

"This thing on my neck was put on me as a mark of sacrifice," said Guts, "But it's been keeping me alive and young looking for just over four centuries now." "How did you get that mark?" asked Ed.

"It's a long story," said Guts, "I'll start at the beginning: The world I come from contained two warring nations; The Kingdom of Midland and The Chuda Empire, I'll get back to that later. I never knew my birth parents. I was told that my father was a mercenary who was killed in battle, and my mother was already dead when I was born. I don't care about that very much. Anyway, I was found by a mercenary band and was raised by their leader Gambino. As soon as I was old enough to walk, Gambino started to teach me how to fight. This cut on my nose was from sword training."

"You must have had it rough," said Hay Lin. "You have no idea," said Guts, "I went into battle for the first time when I was seven. I killed for the first time then as well. By the time I was eleven I had earned a reputation as a strong mercenary. One night Gambino tried to kill me in a drunken rage. He blamed me for every misery he went through ever since he took me in. He blamed be for his being crippled in battle, for the loss of respect from his men and most of all, he blamed me for the death of his wife. I had nothing to do with any of it, but he was too drunk to listen to reason. He tried to kill me, I fought back, and without meaning to I stabbed him in the heart."

"Good God," said Nigel, "That's just f#ck#d up." "You have no idea," said Guts, "When the other mercenaries heard the commotion, they saw Gambino dead and his blood on my sword. They accused me of murder; I panicked and ran. I ran all night until they gave up on chasing me. I eventually found my way to a different mercenary band and started over again. I spent the next four years moving from one battlefield to the next, not caring if I died or not, all I cared about was swinging my sword and collecting my pay for the men I killed.

"At that point on my world," continued Guts, "Midland and Chuda had been at war for nearly 100 years. I was currently fighting for the side of Chuda. I really didn't care which side I was fighting for, only that I got paid. Then one day I came across The Band of the Hawk; the most famous and feared mercenary group in both Midland and Chuda. A few of them tried to rob me, they paid for it in blood. I was then challenged by Casca, second in command of The Hawks. We fought and I nearly killed her, but Griffith, leader of the Hawks, stopped the fight. We fought; he defeated me like I was nothing. But Griffith didn't kill me. Instead he took me in as another mercenary. Griffith told me that I belonged to him until I could defeat him.

"After my first battle with the Hawks, Griffith was so impressed by my skills he made me one of his commanders. The Band of the Hawk was made up of people you wouldn't think as mercenaries. There was Judeau, he could throw a knife unlike anyone else I've ever met. Pippen; he never said much but made up for it with a war hammer. Ricket; he was best with the crossbow. Then there was Corkus; a complete jerk with more ego than brains.

"Casca, now she was something else." Guts then looked at Hay Lin, "I've only ever truly cared about two women in my life," he said, "The second was your grandmother, the first was Casca. She hated me at the beginning, mostly because I defeated her in combat. I admit that I didn't like her much at first, but eventually became friends. But Griffith was an entirely different matter. He had a dream, a dream that he would one day have his own kingdom. Every member of the Hawks believed in Griffith and his dream, and so did I once.

"Three years passed, and the reputation of the Hawks as 'death on the battlefield' grew. The Hawks themselves also grew until we were 6,000 strong, an army unto ourselves. The king of Midland honored Griffith time after time for his leadership and victories. Griffith even caught the eye of the kings' daughter. The many nobles of Midland were afraid of Griffith; they feared that a common mercenary could become a noble himself. One of them, the Prime Minister and brother to the king plotted to have Griffith killed. That didn't work out. There was no evidence, but Griffith knew that the Prime Minister was to blame, and I believed him enough to assassinate the Prime Minister. That's how much I believed in Griffith; I was ready, willing and able to commit cold-blooded murder on his orders.

"Eventually the war came to a point where one more battle could end it. Griffith convinced the king to let the Hawks fight that battle, which we won of course. Chuda was forced to agree to an armistice that would return to Midland territory that Chuda had taken. The war was over. As thanks for ending the war, the king made us, the leaders of The Band of the Hawk, nobles; Judeau, Pippin; Ricket; Casca; even that idiot Corkus. Yet the life of a noble wasn't for me. I packed my bags, strapped my sword to my back and walked away.

"Yet things didn't work out as I had hoped they would. Griffith caught up with me outside the capital. He said I still belonged to him, so we fought again. I won by breaking his sword with just one swing of mine. As I walked away, leaving Griffith kneeling in the snow, I should have realized that I broke more than his sword; I also broke his spirit. He had never lost a fight before then. If only I stayed for just a few minutes, if I even said a few words to Griffith things would have turned out differently. But I walked away without even looking back.

"A year went by before I heard anything from my former comrades. I found out that Griffith had been arrested for treason and the Hawks were being hunted down. By the time I found Casca and the others, there were less than 2,000 left. The rest had either been killed or had left on their own. As it turns out, the day I defeated Griffith he later did something completely stupid that ruined everything he and the Hawks had worked for so long and hard for."

"Let me guess," said Nigel, "He banged the princess and got caught." "Exactly," said Guts, "Casca and I planned out to rescue Griffith; we'd all escape to a neighboring country and start over. Casca, Judeau, Pippin and I would take half the Hawks and rescue Griffith, while Ricket would stay with the other half. We got to the capital and broke into the dungeons. When we found Griffith, he was nearly unrecognizable; he was nearly half starved, his muscles atrophied, the tendons in his wrists and ankles slashed, his tongue cut out. Only his eyes remained the same, eyes that could at times seem to look into ones soul.

"We got Griffith away from the city, yet our plan had run into a wall; our leader would never hold a sword again, or ride a horse. Most of the Hawks that were with us didn't know what to do. Casca managed to convince them to carry on with the plan until we were safely out of Midland. Yet something happened that would change everything; Griffith tried to get away in a wagon. I don't know what he was thinking by trying to leave. But when we caught up with him, that's when it happened; the moon eclipsed the sun and the demons appeared.

"There were thousands of them, tens of thousands. Then that red Behelit, the stone that Griffith carried around his neck that had protected him from harm for all those years opened up. The next thing we knew we were in some nightmare dimension. Some of the Hawks started to lose it, Casca managed to keep everyone's heads together. Then The God Hand showed up, four demons of unimaginable power.

"These creatures, The God Hand, they are convinced that they are the hand of God. They told us that Griffith was chosen by destiny to be the fifth member of The God Hand, that we were to be sacrificed for his rebirth. We were then marked for sacrifice, and then the demons began their fun. It was a massacre: countless demons against only a thousand of us Hawks. I fought to stay alive, to find a way out of that abominable place. Before I knew it, Casca and I were the only ones left alive.

"By then Griffith was transformed into the demon Femto. My mistake; the man I knew as Griffith died the day I defeated him. What we had rescued from that dungeon was but an empty shell, now it was full. Before I could do anything Griffith began to have his way with Casca. That's when I lost it; I fought like I had never done before. I lost count of the number of demons I killed that day, but I didn't care how many I killed, all I cared about was getting to Casca and getting us out of there somehow. Then one of the demons had grabbed my arm in its mouth. I tried to kill the demon but my sword broke. I then used what was left of my sword to cut my arm off at the elbow. I didn't care; I just wanted to save Casca. Then several of the demons had me pinned to the ground, one of them had clawed out my eye. I couldn't move; all I could do was watch with my remaining eye as Griffith raped Casca."

"Jesus Christ!" said Will, "How did you get out of there?" "A demon from a rival faction broke into that nightmare dimension," continued Guts, "This one, named Skull Knight, he saved Casca and myself. His appearance stunned The God Hand enough that they let him leave with us. By then I had passed out from all the blood I had lost." "That's understandable," said Martin, "Considering that you had just cut your arm off."

"What happened next?" asked Al. "When I woke up I found Ricket caring for Casca. While half of the Hawks were rescuing Griffith, the other half was being slaughtered by the demons in anticipation of the sacrifice. Skull Knight had saved Ricket. I asked Skull Knight why he was doing this. He told me that it was his purpose to vex The God Hand, nothing more. When I tried to talk to Casca, she didn't recognize me; she didn't remember anything. The whole experience had destroyed her mind.

"Skull Knight told me that the marks of sacrifice on my neck and the one on Casca would never come off. The God Hand would never stop hunting for us until we were dead. Ricket was safe, but as long as Casca and I lived we would be hounded by the demons. Ricket took Casca to a sacred place the demons couldn't enter. She stayed there until she died of old age. As for me, I chose to walk the open world. The demons would chase me until they had killed me or I killed myself. Since I would never take my own life, I chose to become the hunter; I'd kill every demon I came across until I had destroyed them all. I was told that the brand on my neck would warn me when demons were near, that it would keep me alive unless I was killed in battle. That was 400 years ago, and here I am still hunting and killing demons."

"Now I understand why you left my grandmother," said Hay Lin, "The demons would have killed her if you stayed. You were protecting her." "I can't begin to imagine living your life," said Will, "But since we both have the same enemies I can promise you satisfaction. No, not satisfaction, Nerissa would have promised you that. What I promise you is justice. I swear as Keeper of The Heart of Candracar that I'll do everything in my power to help you defeat The God Hand."

Irma then stood up, "I swear as Water Guardian that I'll help you in your quest for justice," she said. "I swear as Fire Guardian that I'll assist you in this venture," said Taranee. "The honor of The Band of the Hawk shall be upheld," said Cornelia, "This I swear as Earth Guardian." "You loved Casca as you loved my grandmother," said Hay Lin, "As Air Guardian I swear that the virtue of Casca shall be avenged."

Ed stood up next, "The demons attacked my world," he said, "They serve The God Hand, therefore The God Hand is my enemy as well. I give you my word as a State Alchemist, I'll help you defeat our common enemy." "I may not be a State Alchemist myself," said Al, "But where my brother goes, I go. I swear to see this venture to the end, for better or worse."

"The demons attacked my home as well," said Caleb, "I pledge my sword to the destruction of The God Hand." "You also have my sword," said Matt. "And my strength," said Nigel. "And my brains," said Martin. "And my new skills as an Alchemist," said Eric.

"I don't know what to say," said Guts as a single teardrop fell from his one eye, "I've been alone for so long, I've forgotten what it is to have friends." "Well you have friends now," said Will, "Friends who will stand by you to the end."

The end of chapter 14. Next chapter we shift views once again to The Ramblers. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	15. Chapter 15: Other Views scene 3

Last time Guts told his story. Will and her fellow Guardians promised to help Guts defeat The God Hand. Ed and Al also promised to help. The same went for Matt, Caleb and the boys. On with the show!

Chapter 15: Other Views scene 3

"It doesn't matter what you tell me on how much you've improved since you've came here," said Jill to Violet, "You're not coming with us." "Well if you'll hear me out," said Violet, "I'll tell you why you need me for this mission. First of all, once you're on the other side and you've stopped the distortions, how are you and the others that went with you are getting home?"

"She's right," said Laura, "It's her invention that's gonna get us to the source of the distortions and it'll be her invention that'll get us home." "So show me how to use the return device," said Jill, "or someone else like Laura or Michael. I refuse to put you in any danger, you've been through enough danger as it is."

"Compared to what Olaf did to me, Klaus and Sunny," said Violet, "Traveling to another dimension sounds like a walk in the park. If you're worried about my being in danger I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. I've learned several martial-arts techniques since joining The Bureau. I've also gotten pretty good with a handgun."

"Another thing," said Jill, "I don't feel comfortable about you having a gun." "Afraid I'll shoot myself?" said Violet, "I know every rule for gun safety. Look Jill, when I agreed to work for The Bureau, we both knew it was only a matter of time before I would be needed on a field mission. The time has come, I'm ready."

"We are somewhat shorthanded," said Laura, "Virgil is still recovering from his eyes exploding; Aaron is tending to Virgil so he can't come yet; Maria is A.W.O.L. again; not to mention that Max, Steve, Tyler and Julie are still in Memphis. I believe Violet when she says she's ready for a field mission." "The longer we wait," said Violet, "The more damage the time/space distortions do to our world. It's now or never."

Jill hesitated before saying reluctantly, "If it's okay with Bureau Head Callahan, then I guess it's okay with me." "Yes!" exclaimed Violet as she hugged Jill, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" "Don't thank me just yet," said Jill, "Just remember; if we're in a tight spot and you have no chance of escape, I hope you'll think back to this minute and tell your self 'you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.'"

"I'll keep that in mind," said Violet. "Good," said Jill, "Now get your gear ready, we leave for the source of the distortions in three hours." "I won't fail you!" shouted Violet as she ran back to her room for her stuff.

"I remember when it was time for my first field mission," said Laura, "I remember being just as excited. I still do get excited when we're about to head into potential danger." "Well you're different," said Jill, "I was hoping to keep Violet out of this kind of situation. She and her siblings have suffered so much, all I wanted was to keep them save. I feel that I've failed her." "No you haven't," said Laura, "You've helped Violet onto the path that was meant for her. I've got a gut feeling that Violet has some important part to play during this mission."

Violet meanwhile had finished packing her equipment and everything she would need for the upcoming mission. Just one thing remained; She opened her bedside drawer and took out a 9mm service pistol that was given to her from Max as a Christmas present, "You'll never know when you might just need it," he told her. Violet then checked to see if it was fully loaded, then made sure the safety was on. After buckling on a side holster to her belt, she holstered her gun, made sure she had extra ammunition packed and set off for the main lab where her dimensional transporter was waiting.

On her way to the lab Violet stopped at the Bureau archives where her brother, Klaus was reading up on Demon identification. "So Jill finally decided to let you go on the mission,'" said Klaus without looking up form his book. "She did," said Violet, "I'm ready for this, Klaus, you know that." "I know that you feel that way," said Klaus, "But do you really feel that way in your heart?"

Before Violet could answer, there was a loud crack form her left. She turned around to see her little sister Sunny, who had just cracked open a jawbreaker with her sharp teeth. "You're gonna lose those precious teeth of yours if you keep doing that," said Violet as she sat beside Sunny.

Sunny, at age 3, was still learning how to talk properly, but she could understand what people were saying to her, while Violet and Klaus could understand her. Sunny then said what Violet knew to be 'But they taste so good, and I have such strong jaw muscles.' "Still," said Violet, "Jawbreakers are meant for sucking on, not chewing. That's why they're called jawbreakers, 'cause they'll break your jaw if you chew on them."

'Okay,' said Sunny in a reluctant tone, 'You going on a trip or something?' she saw Violet's packed bags. "It's my first field mission," said Violet, "I'm finally gonna be a Rambler like Jill and Laura." 'When I'm bigger,' said Sunny, 'I'll be a Rambler too.' "Well you've got a long way to go before that," said Violet, "But I'm sure you'll be a great one."

'Well have fun,' said Sunny, 'And be careful.' "I'll be fine," said Violet, "I'll bring you back something form another dimension." Giving her sister a hug, then embracing her brother, Violet left for the lab.

In the lab stood a 12-foot tall metal archway that was already pulsing with bluish-white energy. There in the lab waiting for Violet was Jill, Laura, Leon, Fay, D.P., Michael, and Shawn. "So you're really coming with us?" asked Shawn. "I am," said Violet, "I need to, who among you has the mental capacity to run my device from the other side so we can get home?"

Jill and the others looked at each other before Shawn said, "I guess you are the only one here." "Virgil could run the device," said Leon, "That is, he could before Michael got him so mat that his metal eyes exploded." "I said it was a joke," said Michael, "I told him that I was sorry."

"I think we all owe Virgil an apology," said Laura, "He tried so hard to make the world better through science and we either ignored him or made fun of him." "We'll all say we're sorry once we get back," said Jill, "Time and space are falling apart as we speak."

"I've made arrangements for Max, Steve, Jill and Tyler to join us on the other side once they get back from Memphis," said Violet, "They shouldn't be too much longer away." "If they take too much longer," said Jill, "I'll come back here and drag their sorry asses back here. That reminds me, Violet. If you're going to be a Rambler, you need to dress as one."

A lab technician brought Violet a jacked wrapped in cellophane. Violet removed the plastic wrapping to see that it was a tan jacket the like that Jill and the others wore. On the left sleeve were two badges, one of the American flag, the other with the symbol for The Bureau: A bronze hand grasping a silver hammer inscribed inside a gold circle. Under the circle were the Latin words for 'In the absence of light, darkness prevails.'

"Thank you, Jill," said Violet, "Thank you all." "It's no big deal," said Leon, "Now that you're one of us, you should look like one." Violet then put the jacket on, "It fits perfectly," she said. "You look great in it," said Shawn, "Like you were born to wear that jacket." "You are the best," said Violet as she kissed Shawn, who then kissed her back.

"If you don't mind," said D.P., "I'd like to get this mission started. I'm itching to get some demon killing done." "We don't know that demons are responsible for the distortions," said Laura. "Well who ever is trying to destroy reality," said Fay, "They're in for a world of hurt."

Just then a bright flash of bluish-white energy came from the archway. The same colored energy had formed between the archway. "This is it," said Jill, "All who's going, better get going." With that she stepped through the archway and vanished. Leon and D.P. went next, followed by Laura and Fay. Holding onto his hand, Violet and Shawn stepped through the archway into the unknown.

Meanwhile outside Memphis…

"There it is," said Max as he, Steve, Julie and Tyler approached a large rock on the bank of the Mississippi River, "That's where I buried Dracula, or at least his head. The rest of him dissolved when the sun came up that day." "All I see is a rock," said Julie. "Same here," said a bored sounding Tyler, "Can we go now?"

"No," said Steve, "Not until I have full proof that Dracula is dead." "You want proof?" asked Max, "I'll give you proof," he grabbed hold of the rock and lifted it off the ground as if it were a pebble. Steve, Julie and Tyler then looked down into the hole. Sitting in a smaller hole within the bigger hole was what at first appeared to be a human skull. Upon a closer look, the skull looked slightly distorted. Among its teeth was a pair of long, sharp fangs.

"Okay," said Steve, "I'm convinced." "Good," said Max as he replaced the rock atop the skull of Dracula, "Let's head back to D.C." "Hold on a second," said Tyler, "They're not expecting us back at The Bureau for another two days, so why not use those days?" "Sound's like a plan to me," said Julie, "Let's get some catfish."

"You get catfish if you want it," said Steve, "I won't." "You don't like catfish?" asked Tyler. "I don't like any fish," said Steve, "Catfish or otherwise." As Max, Steve, Tyler and Julie headed towards the city of Memphis, there was a sudden flash of lightning, a crack of thunder, and within seconds, Max and the others were drenched from the sudden downpour. "I said it before," said Max, "And I'll say it again, some days it's just not worth getting out of bed."

The end of chapter 15. Next chapter, Will and the others finally come face to face with The Dadga Khan, and we finally learn why he wants Cornelia. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	16. Chapter 16: The Dadga Khan

Last time we shifted views back to The Ramblers as they prepared to stop the source of the time/space distortions disrupting their world. Violet argued with Jill on whether or not she could go on the mission. Jill finally agreed to let Violet join the team, making Violet a full Rambler. With everything ready, the team stepped through Violet's invention that would hopefully transport them to the source of the disruptions. Meanwhile, Max showed Steve, Julie and Tyler the grave of Dracula. On with the show!

Chapter 16: The Dadga Khan

Finally," said Cornelia as the train slowed to a stop, "I thought we'd never get here." After debarking from the train, Will and the others found themselves in front of a three-story office building. "North H.Q.," said Al, "It's not much, but there it is." "From what I've been told," said Ed, "There are about 40 demons running around the forests and hills in the general area. I figure that if we take it one area at a time, we can have the monsters dealt with inside a week."

Before anyone could say anything next, Guts grunted in pain and clasped his hand to his neck, when he drew his hand away, it was covered in blood. "The demons?" asked Hay Lin. "They're close," said Guts, "Lots of them, more than 40. Either that or a really powerful demon is near."

"How perceptive of you, Black Swordsman," said a raspy voice coming from the roof of the building. Will looked up to see a man sized demon in a red cloak and holding a long metal staff. The demon had black cat-like paws and a distinct feline face. "That thing is pulsating with evil," said Hay Lin, "What is it?" "From where I'm standing," said Nigel, "Pure evil incarnate." "Who or what the hell are you?" asked Ed.

"I," said the demon, "am The Dadga Khan, and you Guardians have interfered with the plans of The God Hand for the last time." The demon jumped down from the roof and landed near Cornelia. "Today is the end of The Guardians," said The Dadga Khan, "Except for you, Earth Guardian," it pointed at Cornelia, "You are now mine in body and soul."

"What the f#ck does that mean!" asked Caleb as she stood between Cornelia and The Dadga Khan, his sword drawn and pointing at the demon. "Do not waste your energy you young fool," said The Dadga Khan, "You are no match for me." "Care to back that up?" asked Caleb.

"Don't," said Guts, "This thing is way out of your league. It's an ancient creature that would swat you like a fly." "True words, Black Swordsman," said The Dadga Khan, "I thought I recognized you, you're the one that got away from the masters. I shall enjoy presenting your head to master Femto." "If Griffith wants my head that badly," said Guts as she readied his sword, "he can come and take it himself."

"Before we start to kill each other," said Will, "Answer me this; are you responsible for all the earthquakes and demons on this world and on Metamore?" "As a matter of fact," said The Dadga Khan, "I am responsible, but the credit isn't all mine. I owe Pai-Mey Matoya the credit for pointing out to me that disgusting little world called Metamore."

"So Pai-Mey is behind this somewhat," said Taranee, "Where is she?" "Watching us as we speak," said The Dadga Khan, "I promised her that I'd bring her evidence of the destruction of you Guardians."

"I have one more question," said Will, "why do you want Cornelia?" "You might as well know, Keeper of the Heart of Candracar," said The Dadga Khan, "You won't live long enough to use such information. I am indeed ancient and powerful, yet all that power isn't infinite. While I may seem immortal to others, my time is running out. In order to continue my glorious work I must mate with a human and transfer my mind into the body of the offspring. I have chosen the Earth Guardian to have the honor of mating with me."

"You got to be f#ck$ng kidding!" laughed Cornelia, "No way am I doing the dirty deed with you!" "You misunderstood me," said The Dadga Khan, "You have no choice in the matter. You are mine!"

"She does have a choice!" exclaimed Caleb, "And if you come any closer to her, I'll cut your damn head off." "It's always the hard way with you humans," said The Dadga Khan, "So be it. Come forth my minions!"

Before Will's eyes the demons appeared as if out of nowhere, hundreds of them in many shapes and sizes, all of them with a mixture of lethal looking claws and teeth. "That's more than 40," said Irma to Ed, "A lot more than 40." "Well don't blame me if that thing that's controlling them brought more," said Ed.

"You small one," said The Dadga Khan to Ed, "stand aside or be destroyed." "Who are you calling so small you need a magnifying glass just to get a good look at!" exclaimed Ed. "You, short one!" said The Dadga Khan, "Are whom I am speaking to!" "Don't call me short!" raged Ed as she used Alchemy to create another spear from the ground.

"Consider yourself lucky that you and your brother aren't meant to die today," said The Dadga Khan, "But you should mourn for The Guardians. Now my pets! Destroy The Guardians; yet leave the blond one for me! Kill anyone who get in your way!"

Just then Guts started to laugh loudly. "Why is he laughing?" asked Martin, "We're facing impending death and he's laughing, why?" "I'm laughing because this is nothing compared to what I've faced," said Guts, "I thought Griffith would have realized that it would take more than a few hundred demons to kill me."

"These demons are stronger than any you've ever faced, Black Swordsman," said The Dadga Khan, "They're at their strongest when en mass. You've run from your destiny long enough, Black Swordsman. Bring me his head!" ordered The Dadga Khan, "And make sure the crystal is smashed into dust!"

"If you want to destroy The Heart of Candracar," said Will as she held the crystal in her hand, "Come and get it yourself. Guardians Unite!" With a flash, Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin had transformed into their Guardian forms. "Form up around Cornelia!" shouted Will as she, Hay Lin, Irma and Taranee formed a circle with Cornelia in the center, "Don't let the demons get to her!"

"It's foolish to resist destiny," said The Dadga Khan, "She is mine!" "I won't let them get you," said Caleb as she stood beside Cornelia, "I'll die before I let that beast get its paws on you." "Don't get yourself all worked up," said Cornelia, "I have no intention of becoming that creep's play thing."

Before they knew it, Will and the others were completely surrounded by the demons. "This is your last chance," said The Dadga Khan, "Give me the girl, and I promise your deaths shall be quick and somewhat painless." "Go f#ck yourself!" shouted Matt, "You're not getting Cornelia!" "So be it!" shouted The Dadga Khan, "Make then suffer!"

Before any of the demons could move, the sky, in a sense, opened up about ten feet from the ground in a field of bluish-white energy. Will saw eight figures fall from the opening in space and time. When the light form the opening faded, she saw four men and four women, one with long black hair and really thick eyelashes that she recognized almost instantly.

"Well that was an experience," said Jill as she stood up and brushed the dust off her jacket, "I wasn't expecting to land on our faces." "Yeah," said D.P., "what happened, Violet? I thought we would just walk onto the other side." "Your guess is as good as mine," said Violet, "I'll have to check the data on my PDA."

"I'm sot sure we're where we're supposed to be," said Michael, "This isn't what I thought the source of the time/space distortions would look like." "We may not be at the source of the displacements," said Laura, "But I feel that this is exactly where we're supposed to be." "And there's your proof," said Fay as she pointed at Will, the others and the demons surrounding them."

The end of chapter 16. Next time the fight begins. What's going to happen to Cornelia? Will Violet prove herself capable as a Rambler? All this and more in the next chapter. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	17. Chapter 17: Rambler Reunion

Last time Will and the others finally made it to their destination, only to find The Dadga Khan waiting for them. As it turns out, The Dadga Khan wants Cornelia in order to mate with her, disgusting, isn't it? Our heroes then found themselves surrounded by demons, but before they could attack, Jill and her team arrived. On with the show!

Chapter 17: Rambler Reunion

Before any of the demons could move, the sky, in a sense, opened up about ten feet from the ground in a field of bluish-white energy. Will saw eight figures fall from the opening in space and time. When the light form the opening faded, she saw four men and four women, one with long black hair and really thick eyelashes that she recognized almost instantly.

"Well that was an experience," said Jill as she stood up and brushed the dust off her jacket, "I wasn't expecting to land on our faces." "Yeah," said D.P., "what happened, Violet? I thought we would just walk onto the other side." "Your guess is as good as mine," said Violet, "I'll have to check the data on my computer."

"I'm sot sure we're where we're supposed to be," said Michael, "This isn't what I thought the source of the time/space distortions would look like." "We may not be at the source of the displacements," said Laura, "But I feel that this is exactly where we're supposed to be." "And there's your proof," said Fay as she pointed at Will, the others and the demons surrounding them."

"Jill!" shouted Will, "Jill Sparrow! Is that you?" "No, Wilma Vandom," said Jill, "It's Kathryn Hepburn, who do you think it is?" "I always thought you looked like Audrey Hepburn," said Fay, "But that's just my opinion." "I'd say she looks more like Joan Crawford," said Leon. "You're all wrong," said Michael, "Jill is the exact image of Elizabeth Taylor."

"Um," said Violet, "I may be new at this, but I believe we're supposed to kill all those demons over there." "Indeed we do," said Jill, "Look alive, Ramblers, "There's bloody work to do."

"Allow me to start," said Shawn. With one wave of his hand, the heads of at least thirty demons exploded. "That's nothing!" said Laura. With just one snap of her fingers, (insert finger-snapping sound) nearly fifty demon heads exploded. "Now that you've had your fun," said Michael, "It's my turn now." He then activated his energy swords, one green and the other blue. Yelling at the top of his lungs he charged into the hoard of demons.

"Violet," said Jill as she unsheathed her cutlass, "Stay with Shawn. Shawn, keep Violet safe or I'll skin you alive." Jill readied her cutlass and ran into the demon masses, followed by D.P. with a shotgun, Leon with an Uzi, Fay with her knives and Laura blasting away with her mind.

"Why are they having all the fun?" asked Will, "Everyone attack! Kill them all!" With that the Guardians, they boys, Ed and Al, and Guts joined the fray. It was a massacre; the demons had no chance being attacked from two sides. It was over within ten minutes, ten minutes that seemed to last forever to Violet. She was doing her share of the slaughter with her new pistol, making sure not to stray more then ten feet from Shawn.

Everyone did their part in the destruction of the demons, even Martin with one of his inventions, a laser pistol. The only exception was Guts; he did more than anyone else with that huge sword of his. Despite having been wounded on his arms and legs Guts kept swinging that sword, destroying every demon he saw with his one eye.

When it was over the ground had been permanently stained black from all the demon blood and demon goop from all the dissolving bodies. Only The Dadga Khan remained. "This is an unforeseen event I'm sure," he said, "No matter, victory shall be mine eventually."

"You're deluding yourself," said Will, "Look around, every demon you brought with you is dead." "Face it," said Taranee, "You've lost." "Looks like you're going to have to find someone else for you to screw tonight!" laughed Cornelia.

"This is only a temporally setback," said The Dadga Khan, "You Guardians are doomed; you Alchemists shall die; you freaks from another world shall be sacrificed and you, Black Swordsman, you won't be able to outrun destiny for much longer. As for you Earth Guardian, you shall be mine. One way or another I shall mate with you and you shall give birth to my successor, whether you like it or not!" With a bright red flash, The Dadga Khan vanished.

"He'll be back," said Jill, "Bastards like that can't stop what they do." "Glad to see your back is working again," said Irma, "The last time we saw you that creep Voldemort had thrown D.P.'s arm at you." "That bastard Voldemort did rip my arm off," said D.P., "But I've got a new one." He then showed his metal arm. "Nice," said Ed as he compared his Auto-Mail arm to D.P.'s.

"You've picked up some new blood I see," said Caleb. "Indeed we have," said Jill, "This is Michael Long, a former bounty hunter." "Pleased to meet you," said Michael. "The one throwing up," said Jill, "Is my adopted daughter, Violet Baudelaire." Indeed Violet had bent over to vomit, while Shawn was rubbing her back to ease her discomfort. "The one with Violet is her boyfriend," said Jill, " is Shawn Ohmsford."

"I assume that's the first time you ever killed anything," said Shawn as Violet finished throwing up. "You're right," said Violet, "I feel much better." "Don't feel bad about it," said Fay, "Everyone throws up after the first time they kill a demon. I remember hearing about Jill's first mission; she couldn't eat for three days after that experience."

"We never meet," said Leon as she shook Will's hand. "You're right," said Will, "During that whole ting with Voldemort and Harry Potter you were frozen."

"I think I must have been hit on the head during the fight," said Taranee as she and the other Guardians powered down, "Because that look like Fay Valentine over there." "Oh I'm here alright," said Fay, "Alive and stabbing." "But you got hit with the Killing Curse," said a shocked Irma, "I was there, you had no pulse."

"Come to think of it," said Fay, "My ticker still isn't ticking. I guess I should be worried about it." There was a moment of silence before Fay started laughing. "I'm just kidding, I'm not a zombie." "But she was dead," said Violet, "I should know, I carried her soul in my head for several days."

"Where's Max?" asked Will, "I thought he'd be with you." "Oh he and Steve are checking out the grave of Dracula," said Leon, "They should be along soon." "They went all the way to Romania to see a vampire grave?" asked Nigel. "No," said Jill, "Memphis." "Why would Dracula be buried in Tennessee?" asked Taranee. "Because that's where Max buried him," said Fay.

"Putting vampire graves aside," said Violet, "We've got a situation." Violet and Jill then spent the next fifteen minutes telling Will and the others about the time/space distortions that were affecting their world. Will then summarized to Jill and her team the whole thing with Pai-Mey and the demons.

"This isn't a coincidence," said Martin, "I'm convinced that the distortions on your worn, the earthquakes on this world and on Metamore, along with the freak electrical storm are all the result of Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan trying to destroy the fabric of reality. I don't know how they're doing it, but it's bad I'm sure."

"Then it's a good thing that we have a way with communicating back with Bureau H.Q.," said Violet, "We can combine the data we've all collected and figure out where the distortions are really coming from. Plus, my brother might be able to figure out why that cat demon chose Cornelia to mate with." "Well your brother better figure it out soon," said Cornelia, "'Cause there's no way I'm screwing any demons, not today, not tomorrow, not ever."

The end of chapter 17. Next time, our heroes figure out where the demons are coming from, along with how to save Cornelia. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	18. Chapter 18: Data XChange

Last time, with the combined efforts of Will, her friends, along with Jill and her team, the demons were all destroyed. Only The Dadga Khan escaped, swearing to kill The Guardians and take Cornelia as his mate. After introducing the new Ramblers to Will and the other, Violet and Martin agreed to share information on the demons and the time/space distortions that were affecting the many worlds. On with the show!

Chapter 18: Data X-Change

"Just how are you going to get in touch with your dimension?" asked Taranee, "I've found that it's not easy to communicate between universes." "It is easy with this," said Violet as she pulled out form her bag what looked like a large PDA. "This device can send a signal to the Bureau computers where my brother, Klaus is waiting to send a signal back. It's a little something Virgil made a while back."

"Where is Virgil anyway?" asked Martin as Violet fiddled with the PDA controls for better reception. "His cyber eyes exploded," said Laura, "He'll be out of action for at least another 4 days." "They blew up again?" asked Irma. "Yep," said Fay, "Because _someone _played a stupid joke on him." "I said I was sorry," said Michael, "What more do you want?"

"I want you to realize," said Jill, "That Virgil is a recovering alcoholic who has a short temper for stupidity in his comrades." "Well I have a short temper for bossy women," said Michael, "And there's a limit to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take. I said I was sorry over and over, yet neither you nor Fay nor anyone else will drop it. Right now I'm like a racecar that's in the red, and it's dangerous to have a racecar that's in the red. I could blow."

"You can blow?" asked Laura, "You can blow? Well let me tell you something you ass! You think you've got a short fuse! I'm like a mushroom-cloud laying mother-f#ck#r that's about to hit critical mass with the slightest prodding! I am super-fly TNT ready to explode! I am the Guns of the Naverone! So don't go around thinking you're the only one who gets angry easily!" "I've forgotten just how scary she can be," said Irma.

"Everyone just shut up!" yelled Hay Lin, "We're all on the same side here, so let's at least try to get along, okay?" "Remember what Max always says about arguments," said Jill, "'If you want to kill each other, do it on your own f#ck$ng time. The mission comes first.'" Laura and Michael glared at each other for a minute. "Truce?" asked Laura as she held out her hand. "Truce," said Michael as she shook Laura's hand, "Until the mission is over."

"Now that that is over with," said Violet, "I'll try to get in touch with home," she then activated the transmitter on the PDA, "Klaus, Klaus, can you hear me?" There was a crackle of static lasting ten seconds before Klaus's voice was heard form the device, "I read you, Violet. I take it that you all made it to the source of the distortions?"

"Not exactly," said Violet, "I'm sending you some data collected, have the Bureau computers figure out what happened. I'm also sending you data on distortions that have occurred in other dimensions." Violet then hooked up Martin's laptop to the PDA and started the data transfer. "I'll transfer this to the computer core at once," said Klaus, "But what's happening on your end?"

While Klaus uploaded the data to the Bureau computer core, Violet informed him on what Will and the others told her, especially on The Dadga Khan's threat to mate with Cornelia. Fortunately, Klaus had recently read several books on demon behavior, so he knew the answer.

"This Dadga Khan," said Klaus, "From what you told me is an extremely powerful creature that needs to transfer its mind into a new body every 6,000 years, or else it'll cease to exist. The creature needs a young virgin to impregnate." "But why Cornelia?" asked Will, "Irma's a virgin as well, why not her?" "Why do I have the feeling I've been insulted?" asked Irma.

"It could be for a number of reasons," said Klaus, "The demon might have chosen Cornelia because her reproductive system is most ready for ovulation. It could be her genetic background or some other biological factor. There are thousands of reasons why the demon picked Cornelia."

"Maybe it just likes blonds," said Nigel. "You're not helping," said Caleb. "Whatever the reason," said Klaus, "You can't let the demon impregnate Cornelia. Once the demon has transferred its mind into the unborn child, and the gestation period is completed, which can last from nine months to as little as nine minutes, the child will devour the mother from the inside out."

"That's just wrong on so many levels," said Taranee. "So we'll just wait until the demon dies," said Matt, "It did say its time was running out." "We can't wait," said Laura, "The time/space distortions will destroy our worlds in a matter of months. We need to stop whatever they're doing now before there's any collateral damage."

"Another thing," said Guts, "It would be pointless to hide. The Dadga Khan is a kind of creature that won't stop, can't stop after what it wants. There would be no place in all of existence that you could hide Cornelia and keep her safe. I should know, I've been hunted by demons for over 400 years."

"Right," said Michael, "Demon mating with Cornelia is something we don't want, I get that." "We can't hide and wait," said Fay, "So how do we stop this?" "I'm getting to that," said Klaus, "There are only two ways to save Cornelia. First, kill The Dadga Khan."

"Now you're talking my kind of turkey," said an eager Fay, "So how do we kill it?" "I don't know," said Klaus, "I need to research this level of demon more thoroughly."

"What's the other way to save Cornelia?" asked Hay Lin. "That one is both simpler and more difficult at the same time," said Klaus, "In all incidences and legends where a human female virgin is sought after by a demon, the girl is saved by being deflowered by her one true love. At least, in the cases where the girl lives."

It got so quiet that you could hear crickets chirping. "Well Caleb," said Nigel, "You've got a man's work ahead of you." "That might be a problem," said Caleb, "Cornelia and I both feel that we should wait until marriage. It's a matter of values."

"Well let me put it to you this way, Corney," said Irma, "It's either your values or your life. So what's it gonna be?" "I can solve this dilemma," said Ed, "Here we have North H.Q. I'll tell them to let you two have a room alone for, oh, say twenty or thirty minutes, and we can have this whole mess put behind us."

"This isn't how I imagined us making love for the first time," said Cornelia to Caleb as the followed Ed into the building, "But I guess you can't have every thing you want." Ed came out alone five minutes later, "They've got a room where they can be alone," he said, "And in thirty minutes or so this whole mess will be over with."

Cornelia came storming out after about eight minutes, a look of distaste on her face. "That was quick," said Irma, "How was it?" "Shut up!" snapped Cornelia, "Just leave me alone!" "Was it that bad?" asked Will. "It wasn't anything," said Cornelia, "He can't get it up, if you know what I mean."

Caleb then came running out of the building. "I'm sorry Cornelia," he said, "But I just can't perform under pressure." "You're under pressure!" snapped Cornelia, "You're under pressure! It's my life that's at stake here and you can't get your grove on!"

"Maybe he's not her one true love," said Leon. Cornelia then walked up to Leon and slapped him across the face. "Don't you ever say that again!" shouted Cornelia, "I love Caleb with all my heart, and he loves me equally." She then walked back to Caleb, "I'm the one who should be sorry, I'm sorry to press you so."

"We're both sorry," said Caleb, "We both have the same values. It'll be alright my love," he embraced Cornelia, "We'll find another way to keep that monster away from you, I promise." "The only other way to stop The Dadga Khan," said Violet, "Is to kill it." "Then we're just going to have to kill it then," said Jill, "It's that simple."

The end of chapter 18. Next chapter, Max, Steve, Julie and Tyler arrive with assistance from an unexpected source. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	19. Chapter 19: More Reunions

Last time Violet contacted Klaus back at Bureau H.Q. After transmitting a lot of data on the situation, Klaus told our heroes that the only way to stop The Dadga Khan from mating with Cornelia, which would eventually kill her, is to either kill the demon, or for Caleb and Cornelia to do it. The later was more difficult than it sounded, due to a mixture of values and pressure. The only thing left to do is to find and kill The Dadga Khan. On with the show!

Chapter 19: More Reunions

"So how do we kill The Dadga Khan?" asked Hay Lin. "I'm working on it," said Violet as she tied her hair up with her ribbon, "I just need some time." "Well you've got plenty of time to think," said Jill, "I've just spoken with Bureau H.Q. The distortions are getting worse. A huge storm that came out of nowhere has grounded all flights out of Memphis. Max and the others are on the waiting list for a rental car, but they won't make it back to D.C. until the day after tomorrow."

"So we'll use the time to head back to Central," said Taranee, "Where we'll use the Krell gateway to help Max and his group get here." "By then the Bureau computers should have the information we need to find the source of the distortions," said Shawn, "So let's get cracking." "Oh great," said Irma, "Another boring train ride."

The ride back to Central was uneventful, so to pass the time Will and her friends traded storied with Jill and her group; mostly about the adventures of each group, and partly reminiscing about the fight they shared with Harry Potter against The Death Eaters and Voldemort.

Upon arriving at the train station at Central, our heroes were greeted by Lt. Hawkeye and Col. Mustang. "Welcome back, Fullmetal," said Mustang, "I take it that the demons have been destroyed?" "They have," said Ed, "Thanks to Will and her friends, to Guts and to some new friends Al and I made." Ed then introduced Mustang to Jill, Violet, Michael and the other Ramblers.

"We had some excitement while you were up north," said Hawkeye, "Another group of demons attacked the city. But this time we were ready for them. We also had additional help from an unexpected source that came through the gateway."

"What kind of help?" asked Al. "You'll have to seem them to believe it," said Mustang, "They're waiting for us back at Headquarters. I'll have transportation ready to take us there soon."

Just then Violet's PDA began to beep. "Oh no," she said, "No, I told them to wait until we were ready at this end." "What's happening?" asked Matt. "Someone's activating my dimensional transporter form our world," said Violet, "I think Max and his group are trying to come here. I told them to wait until we could use the Krell Gateway to bring them here safely, who knows where they'll end up?"

Just then a bluish-white energy field appeared above our heroes. Within seconds Max, Steve, Julie and Tyler fell through the energy field and landed in a heap. The energy field then vanished as if it never existed.

"I think I landed on my keys," groaned Steve as he and those who came with him stood up. "It's your own damn fault that you brought your keys with you," said Julie. Violet then stormed up to Max, "I don't mean to disrespect you, Max," said Violet, "But I requested that you wait until I called back and gave the green light. I was going to link up my dimensional transporter with the Krell gateway on this world so you, Steve, Julie and Tyler wouldn't have such a rough landing."

"I know that was the plan," said Max, "But we didn't have time to wait for your okay." "I know," said Violet, "The time/space distortions are growing worse." "More than that," said Max, "While Julie, Tyler, Steve and myself were waiting for a rental car, we ran into an old acquaintance, The Stranger."

"That creep Allen Shockley," said Irma, "You saw that riddle spouting jerk?" "Who's Allen Shockley?" asked Ed. "A really strange man in a blue cloak with weird glowing blue eyes," said Will, "A man who observes and records history in multiple universes." "He also likes to interfere with other people's business to 'tweak the circumstances,' or so he says," said Cornelia.

"You know what," said Ed, "Come to think of it, Al and I both dreamed of a strange man in a blue cloak with glowing blue eyes, didn't we Al?" "We both did, brother," said Al, "We both had the same dream where the man you described told us that we were about to face a huge challenge; that we were to face the challenge with courage, honor, trust in our friends and in each other."

"I met that guy once," said Guts, "Just before I arrived on Metamore this strange man appeared before me. He told me that I would have my chance to avenge all my friends who were betrayed by Griffith, that I would exact my pound of flesh against him. I thought it was nothing, just the ramblings of some crazy person, but he was gone before I knew it."

"That sounds like his style," said Taranee, "He says some truths, some riddles, and then leaves you with more questions than answers." "He sure did," said Max, "One of these days that man or whatever he is, is going to drive me up the wall."

"So how was Memphis?" asked Jill. "Oh it was great," said Julie, "Despite the weather we had a good time. We saw the grave of Dracula, they light up the bridges over the Mississippi at night, we had fried catfish." "You had fried catfish," said Steve, "I hate the stuff." "You don't like catfish?" asked Taranee. "I don't like any fish," said Steve. "How can you not like fish?" asked Hay Lin. "I just don't," said Steve.

A short time later our heroes were driven to Central H.Q. In the main reception hall stood several people that Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin recognized. Especially a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed ninja, and a certain pirate with a straw hat.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Will, "Luffy! You're here!" "You bet!" exclaimed Monkey D. Luffy, "Like we'd ever miss out on helping you take down the demons." "And this time," said Naruto Uzimaki, "That bitch Pai-Mey is going down for good, believe it!"

The end of chapter 19. Next chapter our heroes prepare to enter the world of The God Hand to stop Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	20. Chapter 20: Role Call

Last time our heroes returned to Central just in time as Max, Steve, Julie and Tyler used Violet's dimensional transporter to 'beam' onto Ed and Al's world. Apparently Allen Shockley, The Stranger, wants The God Hand defeated just as much as Will and Guts do. The surprises that day were far from over when several friends of Will and the guardians had arrived through the Krell gateway. On with the show!

Chapter 20: Role-Call

A short time later our heroes were driven to Central H.Q. In the main reception hall stood several people that Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin recognized. Especially a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed ninja, and a certain pirate with a straw hat.

"Naruto!" exclaimed Will, "Luffy! You're here!" "You bet!" exclaimed Monkey D. Luffy, "Like we'd ever miss out on helping you take down the demons." "And this time," said Naruto Uzimaki, "That bitch Pai-Mey is going down for good, believe it!"

"But how did you guys get here?" asked Irma. "That's the weird thing," said Luffy, "I had this wigged out dream about a strange man with glowing blue eyes. He told me you and the others needed the help of my crew and me again. When I woke up, there was this map next to of an island unknown to any records of The Grand Line. Nami found the island and we made out way to the center where these two big columns stood. The map also had instructions on how to activate the gateway and how to set it for where you girls would be."

"It's different for me and my friends," said Naruto, "Like Luffy, I also had a weird dream about a strange man with glowing blue eyes. He told me that you were going up against the demons on their turf soon. The Stranger showed me on a map where to dig for the means to get to you. When I woke up, there was the map in my hand. I followed the map and dug where it told me to do so. Pretty soon the entire village was helping me dig up these alien ruins. It was Sakura who figured out how to activate and reprogram the gateway."

"You did?" asked Taranee. "I sure did," answered Sakura, "It was hard, but it got easier once I figured out the vowels of the Krell language." Meanwhile Sakura's inner ego was chanting; _who rules? I do! who rules? I do!_

The next hour or so was spent as Will introduced Ed, Al, Max and the other Rambler to Naruto, Luffy and their friends. Hay Lin was especially happy to see Rock Lee, while Fay and Garra acknowledged each other with only a polite nod. "That guy without eyebrows," said Michael to Fay, "He creeps me out." "He's a manslayer," said Fay, "Like me, only he was born one, I became one over time."

"Ninjas," said Steve lightly, "Don't make me laugh." "And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Sakura. "I mean, little lady," said Steve, "Is that I'm not convinced that you kids are up to the challenge we're about to face." "Is that so?" asked Naruto.

"Look, kid," said Steve, "I've killed more demons than I know numbers of, so if you ninjas thing you got what it takes, then please show me." "You want to see what I can do?" asked Naruto, "You really want to see what I can do?" "Yes," said Steve, "Let's see what you got."

"Oh man," said Shikamaru, "He's going to do that Jutsu." "What Jutsu are you talking about?" asked Zolo. "You'll find out soon enough," said Saske. "This is so humiliating," said Sakura, "I can't believe he's going to do it." "Here I go!" exclaimed Naruto as he made his hand signs, "Sexy Jutsu!" With a large puff of smoke, Naruto transformed into a very well built teenage girl with long, blond hair and no clothing on.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Will. "That's just disgusting!" exclaimed Jill. "But very interesting," said Shawn, who was promptly slapped by Violet for eyeing another 'girl.'

Naruto then resumed his normal form and gender. He grinned as he saw the effect of his jutsu: Steve and Sanji had fainted form the sudden rush of lust; Max, Michael, Tyler, Leon, Martin, Nigel, Eric, Guts, Ed, Zolo and Usopp had nosebleeds; Al would have had a bloody nose if he had a nose to bleed from. "Are you convinced?" asked Naruto as Steve recovered. "I don't know," said Steve, "I may need some more convincing; do that again." "NO!" exclaimed all the girls present.

Later…

"Okay then," said Max after about another hour of talking, "Before we discuss why we're all here, we should get a list of all who are here." "Already done," said Julie as she handed Max a long sheet of paper with everyone's name on it. "Well just to be sure," said Max, "I'm gonna read everyone's name: Will and Matt…" "Here!" said both Will and Matt.

"Taranee and Nigel…" "Present!" "Irma and Martin…" "Here!" "When did they end up together?" asked Sakura. "Fairly recently," answered Cornelia just before her name and Caleb's were called, "Here!" "Hay Lin and Eric?" "Present!"

"Edward and Alphonse Elric…" "Right here!" said Ed and Al held up his hand. "You're not as tall as I thought you'd be," said Max. "What's that supposed to mean!" exclaimed Ed. "Moving on," said Jill as she took the list from Max, "Guts…" "Here," said Guts. "Naruto Uzimaki…" "Right here, believe it!" "Sakura Haruno…" "Present!" said Sakura. "Saske Uchiha…" "Here!" said Saske.

"I'll speed things up," said Leon as he took the list, "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi, just raise your hand." Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji then raised their hands. "Hinata Hyuuga," continued Leon, "Shino Aburume, Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru…" Hinata, Shino and Kiba raised their hands, while Akamaru barked.

"Neji Huyga, Tenten and Rock Lee…" Tenten, Neji and Rock Lee raised their hands in acknowledgement. "Temari, Kankuro and Garra of the Sands…" The three sand ninjas raised their hands.

"Okay then," said Laura as she took the list, "Representing The Straw Hat crew, Monkey D. Luffy…" "Just call me Luffy." "Nami and Zolo…" "Right here," said both Nami and Zolo. "Tony Tony Chopper…" "Just call me Chopper," said the blue-nosed reindeer. "A talking blue-nosed reindeer," said Laura, "Who knew? Anyway, Sanji and Usopp…" "Present!" said Sanji and Usopp.

"Moving on," said Shawn, "Representing The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, Max Kildare and Jill Sparrow." Present," said Jill and Max. "Leon Smyth-Falcon and Fay Valentine…" Yo!" said Fay and Leon. "Laura Hurst and Michael Long…" "Here!"

"Simon Brotonoononowluski…" "My name is D.P.," said D.P., "And don't forget it!" "Tyler Spartan…" continued Shawn. "Here!" "Violet Baudelaire and Julie Eckheart!" "Right here!" "Steve Austin…" Ready, willing and able!" said Steve. "Shawn Ohmaford, oh wait, that's me, here!"

"Is anyone else coming?" asked Will. Just then two more people entered the room, a man who looked like a slightly older version of Tyler and a woman with shoulder length brown hair and brown gloves on her hands. "Dr. Aaron Spartan and Maria Van-Helsing reporting for duty!" exclaimed Aaron.

"You're late again," said Max as she glared at Maria, "Aaron has an excuse this time, but you Maria are always late. Why are you always late I ask you?" "I go where I'm needed," said Maria in a light German accent, "When I'm needed." She then pulled out a long black cigar and a lighter from her pocked.

"I think this is a non-smoking facility," said Taranee. "What are they gonna do," said Maria, "Arrest me?" "Just humor me and smoke that sh$t of yours outside," said Aaron, "And wait until we're done talking. I don't know why I even bother, your chances of being killed by a demon are much higher than death by smoking."

"You bother because you care," said Jill, "And that's all that matters. By the way, how's Virgil doing?" "He's complaining as usual whenever he's in the hospital," said Aaron, "He'll be up on his feet and seeing again within a few days." "We'll have to go on without him," said Violet, "At last calculation, the time/space distortions will reach global proportions in a matter of weeks. We need to stop them at the source now."

"So here's the plan," said Will, "Violet and Martin will recalibrate the Krell Gateway to send us to the source of the distortions." "It is more than logical that the world we arrive on," said Violet, "Would be one that is worse and the worse nightmare anyone has ever dreamed of. We can safely assume the locals aren't the friendly kind."

"That's where we come in," said Naruto, "If the demons are as bad as you say they are, then we're ready to take them on!" "Same here!" agreed Luffy, "I'm ready to take Pai-Mey down once and for all!" "That's great," said Jill, "We're gonna need all the muscle we can get." "Once we've arrived," continued Violet, "It should be a simple mater to locate the device that's generating the distortions. We find it, destroy it and leave."

"It's not that simple," said Will, "My friends and I promised Guts that we'd fight The God Hand and defeat them." ""You're going to what?" asked Sakura, "You're going to take The God Hand on, and you expect to live?" "We'll try," said Nigel, "We'll give it our all."

"Your all may not be enough," said Laura, "From what I've learned, The God Hand are the most powerful Demons in existence, or as close as can be. If you girls, your boyfriends and Guts take them one as you are now, you'll surely be destroyed. But that may not be the case. What we have here is a rare opportunity to deal a crippling blow to the forces of chaos. Assembled among us are some of the greatest heroes on my world."

"Well," said Jill in a modest tone, "We're not that great." "Also with us," continued Laura, "are those whose mission is to defend against the forces of chaos, as well as several others who have experience fighting said forces. I can't promise that when this is over, that we'll all come back alive and unharmed. But if we work together, if we stay true to the bonds of fellowship that we have made with each other, I can promise you victory."

Within seconds everyone was clapping at Laura's speech. "That girl is gong to be President someday," said Tyler to Max, "Mark my words."

The next morning Will and the others found themselves back at the gateway as Martin and Violet reprogrammed it to the source of the distortions. "You sure the two of you have it right this time?" asked Michael. "We're positive," said Martin, "Using the data collected from both this world, Metamore, my world and Violet's world, we triangulated the dimension where the distortions originate from."

"Will," said Matt, "If we don't make it…" "We'll make it," said Will, "We survived Phobos and Nerissa, we'll survive this as well. But just in case, what were you going to say to me?" "I wasn't going to say anything," said Matt, "I was going to give you this," he placed a small box in Will's hands. She opened it and saw a silver and gold bracelet with the worlds 'Our love is eternal,' inscribed on it.

"It's beautiful," said Will as she put it on her left wrist, "Thank you." Before Matt could say 'your welcome,' Will was kissing him, and he pissed back just as passionately as she was.

"Explain to me this," said Ino to Irma, "How did you and Martin end up together? The last time we saw you people, you threatened to carve your name into his ass with an ice pick." "He pulled me out of the way of a laser blast," said Irma, "And it just happened. All this time I've been deluding myself when I've really loved him all along." "You couldn't have waited until Monday to confess your love," muttered Cornelia, "You just couldn't wait, could you."

"We're ready!" exclaimed Violet as the gateway activated. "This is it, Al," said Ed, "On the other side are countless demons that want to destroy us all." "Not if we destroy them first, brother," said Al.

"Anyone who wants to stay behind," said Will, "Now is your chance to say so." There was a moment of silence before Will spoke again, "That's that then, let's do it." One by one they stepped through the gateway into the unknown, into a world of chaos.

The end of chapter 20. Next chapter, our heroes take the first steps into hell. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	21. Chapter 21: Living Nightmare

Last time Will and The Guardians were reunited with Naruto, Luffy and their respective groups. After everyone was introduced to each other, the plan to stop the source of the time/space distortions was discussed. Violet and Martin then reprogrammed the Krell Gateway on Ed and Al's world to take our heroes to the source of the distortions. On with the show!

Chapter 21: Living Nightmare

"Anyone who wants to stay behind," said Will, "Now is your chance to say so." There was a moment of silence before Will spoke again, "That's that then, let's do it." One by one they stepped through the gateway into the unknown, into a world of chaos.

Will and Matt were the last to emerge from the gateway, the effects of traveling from one dimension to another still hitting them. "If it's okay with you and everyone else," said Will, "I think we'll go home the normal way, with Folding." "I actually miss the Portals," said Cornelia.

"My god!" exclaimed Taranee, "Look at this place!" Everything around Will and the others had a red hue to it, like she was seeing the world through a red filter. The temperature was uncomfortably hot, but it was a dry heat at least. All around the gateway were the ruins of a huge city that looked to have been abandoned for several thousand years at least. Strange markings adored the decrepit buildings.

"So this is Hell," said D.P., "Not exactly what I thought it would be." "Hell isn't all fire and brimstone as it says in the bible," said Maria, "There are those who say that the very center of Hell is a frozen circle, one reserved for people who betrayed the trust of those who cared for them." "That may be true for some cultures," said Ed, "But I believe Hell is different for everyone, Hell is the worst things that you can imagine, only infinitely worse."

"These markings," said Martin as he examined a nearby building, "They're written in the language of the Krell." "What does it say?" asked Laura. "It says," said Martin, _"'to all who have returned from the dimensional colonies, please turn back at once! We here in the home world have paid a terrible price in our efforts to better our people. By attempting to expand our empire further, we opened the door to the world of nightmares.'_ It's worn away from there."

"Here's more," said Sakura, for she could also read the Krell Language, _"'our scientists meant only the best for the people. We had no idea that the use of the gateway system had weakened the fabric of reality on our world. We had no idea of the horrors that waited on the other side of existence, horrors that we unleashed by blindly pressing forward in science.'_ It's worn away here but there's more down here, _'There are only a few of us left alive. We're programming the gateway to deactivate once we've gone through. Our only hope is that the nightmare that has destroyed our home hasn't spread to the colonies. If so then our whole race is doomed. They are coming, the monsters. Please, if anyone from the colonies returns and sees this message, go back and destroy the gateway on your side. Don't let what happened to the home world happen to your homes. Please go back before it's too late…'_ That's all there is."

"Now we know what happened to the Krell," said Taranee, "This world was where they first came from, until the demons took over. The demons invade it, killed the people and made it their own."

"God Damn It!" exclaimed Martin as he fell to his knees, his fist pounding the ground, "It's not fair! It's not right! The Krell were people. They were men and women and children like us. Sure they must have looked different, but they were people. They deserved better than this. The Krell didn't deserve to be wiped out because they were trying to better themselves. They made a mistake in pushing the boundaries of science, but that's no excuse to wipe out their civilization. They deserved better. It's just not right."

"They did deserve better," said Irma, "But we can make a difference. We can honor their memory by defeating the ones who destroyed them." "Yes," said Martin, "We can honor them."

"Oh sh$t on a shingle!" exclaimed Violet, "I've just had a terrible revelation. By using the Krell Gateway, we've been adding to the damage to the fabric of reality. I based my dimensional transporter on alien ruins found in Antarctica. I thought I was making things better by advancing exploration, I was only making things worse."

"You didn't know," said Shawn, "How could you have known? The gateway on our Earth must have been one that the Krell destroyed when they found out what happened here." "How could any of us know?" asked Al, "My brother and I have used the gateway on our world more than everyone else here."

"Nobody is to blame," said Max, "This is one time where ignorance is an excuse. The only thing we can do is carry on with the mission: stop the machine that's generating the time/space distortions before the damage to the fabric of reality gets worse; destroy The Dadga Khan before he deflowers and impregnates Cornelia; and finally, destroy The God Hand."

"There's more," said Violet, "Even if we stop the distortion generating device, the gateways on our worlds are adding to the problem. We have to make sure that they are destroyed so at least our worlds won't add to the damage to the fabric of reality."

"I gout what might sound as a stupid question?" asked Naruto, "Once we destroy the gateway in this world, how do we get back to our individual worlds?" "That's easy," said Will as she held The Heart of Candracar in her hand, "We'll Fold everyone back to their respective dimensions."

"I've just sent a message to my brother, Klaus," said Violet her PDA in her hand, "As we speak my dimensional transporter is being deactivated. As soon as I get home I'm gonna take an axe to that thing." "I'll help you," said Jill, "Gladly."

"First thing's first," said Tyler as he opened up his backpack. Inside were several small blocks of explosives of some sort. "Are you sure you should carry that stuff on your back?" asked Nigel. "It's perfectly safe," said Tyler, "This stuff is called C6. Its 10 times more powerful an explosive than C4, and it's safer to carry around. It won't go off unless you want to go off." He then placed two blocks of C6 on each of the two pylons; one at the base and one at the middle.

"I've got a remote detonator all set up," said Tyler, "We can blow this gateway sky high any time we want." "Save it," said Jill, "We need to locate the source of the distortions first." "I'm on it," said Violet as she scanned the area with her PDA, "I'm getting a signal, it's coming from down there," she pointed towards the nearby abandoned city. "Okay people," said Will, "Let's get this over with so we can all go home."

They made their way through the ruined city, pausing every now and then while Violet took another scan to make sure they were going the right direction. "Something doesn't feel right," said Fay to Max as they stopped in the middle of a large square in the city, "We are in a world full of demons, yet I haven't seen one yet here."

"She's right," said Cornelia, "It's way too quiet here." "Call it paranoia," said Ed, "But I've got the feeling that we're being watched." "You are being watched, Fullmetal Alchemist!" Standing on top of a ruined fountain was Pai-Mey. "There you are!" shouted Saske, "There's no escape for you this time, you traitor!"

"Bold words, last of the Uchiha clan," said Pai-Mey, "Considering that you brats are all here on my territory." "So come down here and fight," said Luffy, "Or are you just going to stand there all day glaring at us." "Oh I'll move alright," said Pai-Mey as she stepped down from the fountain, "But I'm not in the mood for fighting right now, so I'll let my 'friends' do the dirty work for me. You can come out now boys!"

Suddenly, Guts cried out in pain as his hand clutched his neck. Will saw blood flowing from beneath his hand. "Aaron," said Jill, "You've got a patient." Aaron stood beside Guts and removed his hand from his neck to see blood flowing freely from the brand put there by the demons. "I've got to stop the bleeding right now," said Aaron as she opened his medical bag.

"It's nothing!" snapped Guts, "I've had worse!" "Well you're gonna bleed to death if we don't stop it soon," said Aaron as she filled a large syringe with a thick, blue liquid. "What's that?" asked Chopper. "Coagulating fluid," said Aaron as he held the needle above the brand, he pressed on the plunger and the blue liquid began to drip onto the brand. Within seconds the bleeding had stopped.

"Thanks," said Guts, "But the pain is still there." "I can so something about that," said Chopper as he pulled out a syringe filled with pain medicine. "No," said Guts, "No drugs, we're about to have a large fight and I need to have my head clear." "Oh crap," said Hay Lin, "We're surrounded!"

All around Will and the others were demons; thousands upon thousands of them in every shape, size and color imaginable. And leading them was The Dadga Khan. "Well look what we have here," said The Dadga Khan, "The famous Ramblers and their leader, Destructucs Maximus." "That's what they call me," said Max, "And you're the one responsible for disrupting the fabric of reality in my world."

"Guilty as charged," said The Dadga Khan, "You mutant scum have thwarted the master's efforts to destroy your world for far too long." "Don't call us mutants," said Steve, "And I won't call you a f#ck-faced freak show with an ass even your mother wouldn't love, you sh$t eating f#ggot bastard!"

"If you think you can make me angry with empty insults," said The Dadga Khan, "You're mistaken. Now Guardians, I shall only ask this one more time; surrender my mate at once or suffer." "Never!" exclaimed Caleb as she stood in front of Cornelia, "I'll die before I'll let you touch her!"

"You humans always chose the hard way," said The Dadga Khan, "Very well, suffering it shall be. Come forth _Nosferatu _Zodd!" From the ranks of the demons came a large creature that looked to be a cross between a bear and a bull. The demons stood on two hoofed legs, had razor sharp claws on its hands, brown fur, a forked tail, bat-like wings, very long horns that ended in sharp points, rows of fangs and red eyes.

**"You call, my lord,"** rumbled the deep voice of Zodd, **"I am here."** "I've a job for you, Zodd," said The Dadga Khan, "Eliminate the humans, except the Elric Brothers." "Why?" asked Ed, "What's so special about Al and me?" "Let's just say that someone very powerful wants you two to be kept alive," said Pai-Mey, "However, if you continue to fight with Will and her pathetic friends, accidents do happen."

"You're a real piece of work, Pai-Mey," said Naruto. "Yeah," said Luffy, "You're nothing but a demon that only looks human." "Why thank you," said Pai-Mey, "But flattery won't get you anywhere, you stretchy freak!" "I am not a freak!" exclaimed Luffy.

"I think I can clear this up," said Will, "What Luffy and Naruto were trying to say is that you've truly crossed over to the dark side. When we first met on Metamore, I had at that time hope that there was still some goodness in you, just a sliver of humanity left. I've realized as Luffy and Naruto have; you have no heart!"

"Enough talk!" exclaimed The Dagga Khan, "Racorw, deliver my bride to the ritual chamber." "With pleasure!" hissed the demon named Racorw, it extended bat-like wings from its back, took flight, soared over our heroes and grabbed Cornelia. "No!" shouted Caleb as the demon flew away with a screaming Cornelia.

Guts aimed at the demon with his repeating crossbow while Steve, Julie and D.P. aimed with their guns. "Don't shoot!" exclaimed Jill, "You might hit Cornelia!" "Don't!" exclaimed Matt as he tried to stop Caleb from going after Cornelia, "Don't go running off alone!" "But they took Cornelia!" shouted Caleb, "They took her! I got to go after her!" "We'll get her back," said Will, "Before we got here Martin put a tracking chip on Cornelia, just in case. We'll get Cornelia back, I promise."

"I think we've got a bigger problem," said Julie, "Those demons are attacking." "Let them attack!" yelled Guts, "We're in this to the end, no surrender, kill them all!" He charged into the oncoming demons, his sword slaying at least three with every swing. "You heard the man with the big sword!" exclaimed Steve, his power-pole ready for action, "No Surrender! Do or Die! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

With that Steve and the rest of The Ramblers charged at the demons. "Come on," said Will as she held up The Heart of Candracar, "Guardians Unite!" With a flash Will, Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin transformed into their Guardian forms.

The fight seemed to drag on forever as wave after wave of demons attacked. The combined efforts of The Guardians, the boys, Ed and Al, Naruto and his Ninjas, Luffy and his crew; Max and the Rambler, and Guts seemed to hold the demons at bay, yet the creatures still kept coming, all the while Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan watched.

Then for no apparent reason the demons stopped attacking. Will and the others looked around to see why the creatures had stopped. Right in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by countless **"Black Swordsman,"** rumbled Zodd, felled demon bodies stood Guts, facing off against Zodd. **"So we meet again after 400 years. I'm surprised that you are still alive."**

"Cut the crap, Zodd," said Guts, "You're only just a steppingstone towards my killing Griffith." At that Zodd let out a bone-chilling laugh, "**You're a fool to think you can destroy master Femto. But if that truly is your goal, then you must defeat me!"** The demon charged at Guts. He just stood there and fired several bolts from his crossbow at the demon. Each bolt hit its mark yet none doing any apparent damage.

Just before being impaled on Zodd's onrushing horns, Guts sidestepped and slashed at Zodd's torso with his sword, leaving a long gash on the demon's side. **"Not bad,"** said Zodd, **"You have improved since our last encounter. I commend you, now you must die!"**

Zodd charged again, and Guts sidestepped again and slashed Zodd again. "He's crazy to take that thing on by himself," said Rock Lee, "I'm going to help him." "No, Lee," said Hay Lin, "This is Guts' fight, he has to do it on his own." "I never said that you couldn't help!" shouted Guts.

"In that case," said Rock Lee as he began to power up, "The First Gate: Gate of Opening, release! The Second Gate: Gate of Rest, release! The Third Gate: Gate of Life, release!" His hair began to stand up while his skin turned red. "What's he doing?" asked Max, "I can feel his energy level rising."

"He's opening his inner chakra gates," said Hay Lin, "Just give him some more time." "Then I'll give him the time," said Laura as she sent a mind blast at Zodd. The force of Laura's attack knocked Zodd to its knees, yet it got back up. "Suck on this, demon!" shouted Max as she quickly charged up a spinning energy disk above his left hand, Destructo Disk!" he threw the energy disk at Zodd and cut off it's right arm at the elbow. **"Nice try, human,"** said Zodd as it reattached its arm and it healed almost instantly.

"Sh$t!" exclaimed Julie as she shot Zodd again and again with her rifle. "The damn thing can regenerate!" "Then we keep fighting until it can't regenerate," said Ed as he clapped his hands together. He then touched the ground, sending lines of energy racing towards Zodd, causing sharp spikes to jump out of the ground. These did little more than scratch Zodd.

Meanwhile Rock Lee had finished opening the fourth and fifth gate and was in the process of opening "The Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy, release! The Seventh Gate: Gate of Shock, Release!" "His energy readings are off the chart!" exclaimed Violet, "I think he might just be stronger than you, Max." Just then her PDA shorted out from all the energy in the air. "Good thing I have a spare," said Violet as she pulled out a spare PDA from her bag.

"He's still powering up," said Hay Lin, "I thought he couldn't go any higher than the seventh gate." "He can," said Sakura, "He's going for the Eight Inner Gate Formation." "I thought you said that would kill him," said Irma, "That to have that kind of power would be lethal."

"It would," said Saske, "But Rock Lee discovered that there's another gate beyond the eighth gate, one that enables to open all the gates and survive. He told me that he could do it because he was fighting for someone precious, someone he loves." "Me," said Hay Lin, tears of joy streaming from her eyes, "He's fighting for me. He truly is a splendid ninja."

"The Eighth and Ninth Gates!" exclaimed Rock Lee, "Gate of Death and Gate of Rebirth, RELEASE!" There was a sound that resembled an atomic bomb exploding and the air filled with dust. When the dust cleared, Will and the others could see that Rock Lee was covered in a golden aura, his eyes had turned green and his hair was slightly longer, though still black.

**"So you changed your appearance,"** said Zodd, **"That still won't defeat me!"** "I can destroy you!" shouted Rock Lee, "Because I fight for the one who is precious to me. I fight for all that is precious in life. But most of all, I fight to prove that I am and always be a Shinobi!" Quicker than anyone could see, Rock Lee vanished, reappear in front of Zodd. "SRIKE OF FURY!" shouted Rock Lee as he delivered an earth-shattering kick to the demon's torso. The force of the kick was so powerful that Zodd's body fell apart into about 4,000 bloody pieces. The only part that remained intact was its head.

Hay Lin rushed over to Rock Lee, who had collapsed from the effort of his attack. The aura had faded; his hair wasn't standing up any more, his skin and eyes returning to normal. "Lee," said Hay Lin as she reached his side, "Are you alright?" "I'll live," said a very tiered sounding Rock Lee, "I just used up all my fighting energy in one shot, and I'm spent." At that Hay Lin smiled and laughed, "The only time I've ever heard you say that was when we were in bed together." "Whoa!" said Irma, "Too much information, people!"

"He did it!" exclaimed Naruto, "He opened all eight gates! Well, nine gates, but he did it! A ninja legend is born today, believe it!" "Amazing," said Garra to Temari and Kankuro, "He is stronger than all of us put together. For one minute he achieved a power greater than that of a Hokage, yet I feel no ill will towards him, only respect." "Perhaps there's hope for you after all, Garra," said Kankuro.

"We're not done just yet," said Saske, "What about the rest of the demons?" "All taken care of," said Steve as she shouldered his demon blood-soaked power pole, "Maria scared them off and I bashed the ones who didn't run fast enough." "You did?" asked Al, "How?" "They took one look at my family crucifix," said Maria, "And they all ran."

Just then there was a high-pitch yell, followed by a spattering sound. Will turned around to see Violet holding onto Shawn. Below them was a dead demon, its head split open. "What happened?" asked Irma. "One of the demons were only playing dead," said Violet as she tried to slow her breathing, "It grabbed me, then it let go, and Shawn bashed its brains out." "Why did it let you go?" asked Ed. "Because of this," said Violet, as she held out a silver pendent from around her neck that had Celtic symbols engraved onto it.

"This is a very powerful anti-demon amulet," said Will as she examined the pendent. "Shawn gave it to me," said Violet, "Read the back." Will turned the pendent over to see the words

'You are the light of my world,

I'll love you to the end of time

Shawn'

"That's so sweet," said Taranee, "You are one lucky girl." "I guess so," said Violet.

"Oh sh$t," said D.P., "Look who's still alive." The only part of Zodd that remained in one piece was his head, and the head was still gasping for air. "I got this," said Guts as he readied the canon attachment on his arm. **"You fools may have defeated me,"** gasped the head of Zodd, **"But you'll never defeat The God Hand!"** "Oh shut up already," said Guts as he attached the lanyard to his cannon arm. He aimed, pulled the lanyard and shot the cannon at Zodd's head, destroying it completely.

"That takes care of that," said Luffy. "That doesn't take care of anything!" exclaimed Caleb, "The demons still have Cornelia!" "How true!" said The Dadga Kahn. "Damn!" said Will, "I forgot those two were watching." "You may have destroyed Zodd," said Pai-Mey, "But your suffering has only just begun, right my friend?"

"Indeed," said The Dadga Khan, "I shall take my leave, my bride awaits me." With a red flash The Dadga Khan vanished. Pai-Mey also disappeared as well. "I've got a signal!" exclaimed Martin as she held up his PDA for better reception, "Cornelia is about 2.6 miles to the west of here."

"The source of the distortions is 3.1 miles to the north," said Violet as she scanned with her spare PDA. "We'll split up," said Will, "Nigel, Taranee, Irma, Martin, Julie, Michael, Fay, Leon and Laura will go with Caleb, along with Garra, Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. They'll save Cornelia. The rest will head to the source of the distortions and destroy it. With that out heroes split into two groups; one to save Cornelia, the other to save of all existence.

The end of chapter 21. Next chapter Caleb and his group race to save Cornelia from a fate worse than death. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


	22. Chapter 22: Race Against Time

Last time our heroes arrived in the dimension from where the time/space distortions were coming from, only to discover that it was also the home world of the long extinct Krell. Apparently the Krell gateway was the means of their destruction, as it allowed the demons to take over their world. As our heroes made their way to the generator of the distortions, they found themselves surrounded by demons. One of the servants of The Dadga Khan grabbed Cornelia and flew away with her. In the ensuing battle Guts faced off with Zodd, a demon he was failure with. Rock Lee powered up to his fullest, opening the Eighth and Ninth Inner Gates, and destroyed Zodd's body. Guts finished off the head. Our heroes have now split up to stop the distortions and to save Cornelia. On with the show!

Chapter 22: Race Against Time

"I've got a signal!" exclaimed Martin as she held up his PDA for better reception, "Cornelia is about 2.6 miles to the west of here."

"The source of the distortions is 3.1 miles to the north," said Violet as she scanned with her spare PDA. "We'll split up," said Will, "Nigel, Taranee, Irma, Martin, Julie, Michael, Fay, Leon and Laura will go with Caleb, along with Garra, Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. They'll save Cornelia. The rest will head to the source of the distortions and destroy it. With that out heroes split into two groups: one to save Cornelia, the other to save of all existence.

"How much further?" asked Caleb as they ran down the ruined streets that once was a city of the Krell. "Just under two miles," said Martin, "We'll find her, I promise." "I just hope we're not too late," said Ino, "If that demon has had it's way with Cornelia by now…" "Don't say things like that," said Shikamaru, "They have a way of coming true."

"Any chance," puffed Chouji who was bringing up the rear, "That we could slow down for a second!" "No time to slow down," said Caleb, "In fact, we should hurry!" He began to run faster. "Oh man," said Chouji as the others picked up the pace, "This just isn't my day."

Meanwhile, things weren't looking so good for Cornelia. The demons had taken her to a large temple-like structure that was falling apart at the seams. They had ripped her clothing off and forced her to wear a simple white dress with a hemline above the knee. Then they strapped her to a stone alter, making sure she couldn't move and her legs were forced apart.

"I was hoping that Will would be here to witness the deflowering of her friend," said Pai-Mey, a nasty smile on her lips and a digital camera in her hands, "But she and the others will just have to settle for the DVD." "You're taping it!" exclaimed Cornelia, "I'm about to be raped and impregnated with a demon seed and you're taping it? You really are sick!"

"That's probably the nicest thing I've ever been called," said Pai-Mey as she activated the camera and pointed it at Cornelia, "Now, from what I've heard you dream of being in the movies. Well here's your big break, so smile for the camera!"

"How much further?" asked Caleb. "Less than a mile and a half," answered Martin. "If we run any faster," said Leon, "We'll have nothing to fight with, energy wise I mean." "He's right," Taranee, "We need to think this through." "Look who's talking," gasped Chouji, "You and Irma can fly."

"He's right," said Irma, "We can fly." "Then go fly ahead and see if Cornelia is alright!" exclaimed Caleb. With that Irma and Taranee flew ahead.

"Get that f#ck$ng camera out of my face!" exclaimed Cornelia as Pai-Mey moved in for a close-up. "Did you know that you're more beautiful when you're angry?" asked Pai-Mey, "That's it, get angry, make love to the camera. It's probably the only good loving you're gonna get before The Dadga Khan has his way with you; not like that flaccid boy of yours is ever gonna get in your pants."

Cornelia then spat right into Pai-Mey's eye, startling the disgraced ninja into dropping the camera onto the stone floor. It broke into several pieces. "Don't you ever say that about Caleb!" raged Cornelia, "My man will come for me, just wait and see." "Oh you dirty little slut!" shouted Pai-Mey as she slapped Cornelia across the face, "That was a $400 camera. I hope The Dadga Khan enjoys himself with you for an extra long time."

"Stop playing with my bride, Pai-Mey," said The Dadga Khan as he entered the temple. Cornelia saw that he had removed his red robe. Underneath was a mixture of fur and scales that glinted in the red light. The many demons that were waiting in the temple bowed before their master. "The time has come my friends," said The Dadga Khan, "Now is the time where I take my bride and pass my mind on into the next generation." _Caleb,_ thought Cornelia, _Please hurry._

"How much further?" asked Caleb. "If you ask me that one more time," said Martin, "I'll bash your brains in with my PDA. We'll be there in less than a minute." They had arrived at the temple, Taranee and Irma were waiting for them. "They've got Cornelia strapped to an alter," said Taranee, "And I think that demon is about to stick it to her."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Caleb as she drew his sword. "If you go charging into there without a plan," said Leon, "You'll just get yourself killed, and then what good will it do for Cornelia?" "Well do you have a plan?" asked Caleb, "Because I'm all ears." "As a matter of fact," said Leon as he pulled out from his bag several blue colored grenades, "I do have one."

"Let the ritual begin," said The Dadga Khan, "Racorw, start the invocation." "Yes master," said Racorw as it began to chant:

_Deep within the womb of time_

_the creature thus be born_

_the seed of live is united_

_with the egg of eternity_

_gestates within the womb_

_of life for three quarter_

_and nigh a year_

_The creature thus be born!_

_The creature thus be formed!_

"Now I shall take pleasure with my bride," said The Dadga Khan as it advanced towards Cornelia. "Would you look at that," said Cornelia who was grinning like she just heard or saw something funny, "It's so small, I can't even see it! You must have a lot of issues growing up."

"I'm big enough," said The Dadga Khan, "you'll feel it in a few seconds, then you shall truly be mine!" There then came the sound of something clattering to the ground, followed by several loud 'Bang's' and several blinding flashes.

"Go!" shouted Leon as he and the others rushed into the temple. All around them the demons clutched their eyes and ears from the bright light and loud noise. Even Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan were incapacitated. "Those flash/bangs grenades really work," said Shikamaru, "But I would have thought of it sooner or later." "Sure you would," said Ino.

Caleb was the first to reach Cornelia, he cut the straps and gathered her in his arms. "Let's go!" he shouted. "You go," said Fay as the demons began to recover, "I'll hold them off." "Not without me," said Leon, "Besides, you already died once." "I have no intention of dieing again," said Fay. "We'll stay too," said Garra. Temari and Kankuro nodded in agreement.

"Let's go already!" exclaimed Nigel. He tugged at Caleb's arm. They carried Cornelia out of the temple, leaving Fay, Leon, Temari, Garra and Kankuro to face The Dadga Khan, Pai-Mey and the demons.

"Is she all right?" asked Irma. "Just in shock," said Ino, "she'll snap out of it soon." Seconds later Cornelia regained her senses. She saw Caleb and embraced him. "I knew you would find me," she said, "I never doubted you for a second."

"I hate to interrupt this tender moment," said Chouji, "But we've got company!" Several demons came running after them, lead by Racorw. "Kill the others!" shouted the lead demon, "Keep the master's bride alive!" "I hope you're up for some running, Chouji," said Shikamaru. "Not really," said Chouji, "You get out of here, I'll hold them off." "You sure you want to do this?" asked Ino. "I'm sure," said Chouji, "Just get out of here and keep Cornelia safe. If I don't make it, it's been fun." He shook Shikamaur's hand, then Ino's hand before facing the demons, "Let's go. Body Expansion! Meat Tank Jutsu!" He expanded his body and began to roll towards the oncoming demons.

"You interloping humans have pushed me to the limit," said The Dadga Khan, "I won't be denied my bride!" "Oh really," said Fay, her knifes drawn and ready for stabbing, "Let's see what you got!" "Gladly!" exclaimed The Dadga Khan as he charged at Fay. He raised a clawed hand, ready to strike, but it slashed only at empty air as Fay sidestepped and slashed the demon in the side.

"Is that all you got?" asked Fay, a look on her face saying she was really having fun. Roaring with furry, The Dadga Khan charged at Fay again, who dodged and slashed the demon again. Three more times this repeated. "You disappoint me," taunted Fay, "I expected more from the mastermind behind the time/space distortions. Oh well, you can't have everything."

It was at that time that Fay had the bad luck of tripping over her untied shoelace. She fell on her back, her knifes clattering sever feet away beyond her reach. "You have made me bleed my own blood," fumed The Dadga Khan as it grabbed Fay around the neck and began to choke her, "I cannot like that." The demon raised its other clawed hand in the air, preparing to slash Fay's face off, when the clawed hand was grabbed by another hand, one made of sand.

The sand hand came out of Garra's gourd, a look of glee on his face as he used his chakra to throw The Dadga Khan off of Fay. Garra then used more of his sand to form a giant fist, one aimed at The Dadga Khan, "Sand Fist!" shouted Garra as he sent the fist at the Dadga Kahn's face, knocking it out completely.

"Thanks," said Fay as she stood up, "For a second I thought I was a goner, again." "Not today," said Garra. "Where's Pai-Mey?" asked Temari, she had returned her giant fan to her back after blasting the remaining demons. "She's gone," said Leon, "Oh man, Caleb and the others!" "Go," said Fay, "Go help them, I'm not done here."

Not wanting to argue with Fay, Leon, Temari and Kankuro left the temple, leaving Fay, Garra and the unconscious Dadga Khan. "Now," said Fay, "What to do with this bag of pig vomit?" "Allow me the honor of killing it," said Garra eagerly. "You can kill it," said Fay, "But not until I'm done," she then removed from her bag a hacksaw and several lengths of rubber tubing, "I've only just begun to work on this creep." "Mind if I watch?" asked Garra. "Not at all my friend," said Fay, "Not at all. You can even help; hold this bastard's head while I remove its tongue."

"I still can't believe Chouji is gone," said Ino, "He saved us, and now he's gone." They had managed to lose the demons by running down a side alley, so they stopped by a ruined fountain to rest for a minute. "He died a hero's death," said Shikamaru, "When we get home I'll make sure nobody forgets him and what he did for us. If I have to build a monument in his name, I'll do it with my bare hands." "I'll help you," said Ino.

"First thing's first," said Nigel, "We have to get home. Martin, any idea where we are?" "I'm working on it," said Martin as he checked his PDA, "I had tracking chips put on the others in case we were separated, so it shouldn't be too hard finding our way back to them." "Max and the others have their own locating devices," said Leon, "We'll go back for Fay and the others at the temple soon enough."

Just then they heard the demons running up the street. "Here we go again," said Taranee as she and Irma flew up to face the oncoming demons. Michael, Leon, Julie, Martin, Ino and Shikamaru stood up to fight the demons. "This chase ends here," said Julie as she reloaded her rifle, "Caleb, get Cornelia out of here, we'll find you."

"What if you don't make it?" asked Cornelia. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Michael as he activate his energy swords, "Now get going!" Cornelia and Caleb then ran down another side alley.

The demons charged at Michael and the others. They attacked first; Michael as a blue and green blur with his energy swords. Leon used his bursts of super speed to avoid the demon's strikes. Since Voodoo doesn't work on demons, he had to rely on his service knife to slay the creatures. Nigel just used his super strength to rip the demons apart, while Julie had taken a high position on top of the fountain to snipe at the demons. Ino and Shikamaru were doing their thing on the ground, Irma and Taranee were doing their thing in the air.

However even the best defenses aren't perfect; Racorw and about ten demons slipped past the defenders and continued after Caleb and Cornelia.

Caleb and Cornelia meanwhile had taken refuge in an abandoned house. They blocked up the door as best as they could, but knew it was only a matter of time before the demons found them. "This isn't how I figured my life would end," said Cornelia. "And how did you figure it would end?" asked Caleb. "With you of course," said Cornelia, "After a long and full life together."

"I don't know about a long and full life," said Caleb, "But at least we're together, I won't let those things take you." They looked into each other's eyes. "Caleb," said Cornelia, "Answer me this, do you love me?" "With all my heart," answered Caleb. "Then love me," said Cornelia, "just love me." And love her he did.

"They're down here somewhere," said Racorw, "The master is waiting for his bride, we mustn't disappoint him." "Sir!" exclaimed one of the demons, "I think I've found them," he was shoving at a barred door. Racorw shoved the demon aside and kicked the door open. The demons rushed inside to see Caleb and Cornelia straightening their clothing.

"You didn't," said Racorw as the demons grabbed hold of Caleb and Cornelia, "You couldn't have, you didn't have enough time to do so." At that Caleb and Cornelia both smiled widely as if they were both truly happy. "You did!" raged Racorw before glaring at Cornelia, "But I bet you didn't enjoy it." That was the last thing Racorw said before a green energy blade cut him in half from bottom to top. Michael stepped over the split demon, while Ino, Shikamaru and Nigel dispatched the remaining demons. "Now that's what I call separation anxiety," he said.

"Are you alright?" asked Taranee as she and Irma entered the building. "I'm fine," said Cornelia who was still smiling widely. "We're both fine," said Caleb, "And Cornelia is beyond the reach of The Dadga Khan forever, he can't touch her now." "Why?" asked Irma before clarity dawned on her face, "Oh no, you did it, didn't you?"

"Yes," said Cornelia, "And I'm glad, not only to be safe form that creep, but my man truly is a man, if you know what I mean." "Oh I know," said Taranee, "And I think we shouldn't be hanging around here waiting for more demons."

As they made their way back up the street, they saw Leon, Temari and Kankuro. "What happened?" asked Kankuro, "Where's Chouji?" "He bought the farm," said Shikamaru, "But he took a lot of demons with him." "Where's Fay and Garra?" asked Irma. "They're back at the temple," said Temari, "She said she wasn't done with The Dadga Khan." "I can't even begin to imagine what Fay is doing to that creature," said Leon, "Or maybe I just don't want to."

Meanwhile…

"The way I see things, Garra," said Fay as she continued her work, "There are genetic predispositions that allow people to do certain things naturally. In our case, it's killing." "That is logical," said Garra as he watched Fay, "When did you first feel the urge to kill?" "The first time I truly desired to take the life of a fellow human being," said Fay, "Was when I was 9. It wasn't until I was 13 that I acted on said urges. I witnessed a mugging and chased down the mugger. I slashed his throat with my pocketknife. That was the first time I ever killed a person. When did you first feel the desire for death?"

"I've felt the urges all my life," said Garra, "I've been killing with chakra controlled sand since I've been able to walk. Since then I've been killing anyone who stood in my way. I tried to stop, but I've learned that killing is in my nature, it's what I am." "You kill there fore you are," said Fay, "I once thought that way. There was a time when I was completely out of control as a vigilante, it felt so good to be the one killing evil. It wasn't until I met Jill Sparrow and the other Ramblers that I learned that I had the power to stop all along. I've since turned my urges for killing people into killing demons, and it's been very fulfilling, and in cases like this, rather artistic. There, I'm finished."

Fay then leaned back to admire her work. "I got to tell you, Garra," she said, "I'm good and bushed. It wasn't from the fighting today, it's from all the sawing and tube tying. It got a little messy at one point, but I think the squirted blood adds to the image. What do you think?" "I think it's beautiful," said Garra truly, "You're a real artist." "I try," said Fay as she stood up, she and Garra admiring her work. Squirming on the ground was what was left of The Dadga Khan; his tongue and eyes torn out, his legs sawed off at the knee, the arms removed at the elbows. "What do you call such a beautiful work of art?" asked Garra. "I really don't have a name for it," said Fay, "But since you and I have so much in common, I think I'll call this 'the start of a beautiful friendship.'"

"I like it," said Garra, "Yes, this is the start of a beautiful friendship." "We'd better try to find the others," said Fay as she repacked her bag, "There's still so much to do today." Just before she and Garra left the temple, she turned around as if remembering something, "That reminds me," she said as she pulled out her service pistol, "There are times when it is okay to show mercy." "Allow me," said Garra. He used some of his sand to completely cover The Dadga Khan's mouth and nostrils. Three minutes later the demon was dead from lack of oxygen. "Very well done," said Fay, "Now we can go."

The end of chapter 22. Next chapter, we focus on Will and the others as they finally locate the device generating the distortions. Please review, and I'll see you next time!


	23. Chapter 23: The Philosopher's Stone

Last time Caleb and co. raced to save Cornelia before she was to be impregnated by The Dadga Khan. Thanks to some well-timed stunning grenades from Leon, Caleb rescued Cornelia. Fay and Garra faced off against the upper-level demon and disabled him. Meanwhile Chouji sacrificed himself so the others could get Caleb and Cornelia to safety. Realizing that they were cornered with no way out, Caleb and Cornelia did _it_, thereby preventing The Dadga Khan from having his way with her. But that didn't matter, since Fay had her way with The Dadga Khan, if you know what I mean. Garra then killed the demon, ending that part of the nightmare. On with the show!

Chapter 23: The Philosopher's Stone

While Caleb, Fay, Garra and those who went with them ran to save Cornelia, Will, Naruto, Luffy, Ed, Al and everyone else continued to locate the source of the time/space distortions. "We're getting really close now," said Violet as she scanned the area with her PDA, "The source is less than a mile from our location."

"I hope Caleb got to Cornelia in time," said Hay Lin, "I don't know what I'd do if that monster had its way with her and I didn't do anything to stop it." "Have faith in Caleb," said Rock Lee, "He is a strong and proud warrior, he'll save his damsel in distress. I know, I'd do the same for you." He smiled and is teeth 'pinged' in the red light.

"There it is!" exclaimed Violet, "It's right ahead of us in that building!" "How do you know?" asked Luffy. "It's the only one in front of us," said Nami. "Oh," said Luffy, "I knew that." "Sure you did," said Sanji."

"So what's the plan?" asked Steve as they reached the building. "First," said Max, "We see just how many demons are guarding the place." "I'll do that," said Neji as she made his hand signs, "Byakugan!" using his family's special jutsu, Neji scanned the building. "There are several demons in the building," he said, "But only three in the central room."

"I'll bet that's where the device that's generating the time/space distortions is," said Jill. "There's only a handful of demons guarding the place," said Shawn, "But only one is needed to call for backup." "Leave that to us," said Saske, "Us ninjas will go in first. The rest of you, wait one minute before coming in after us." He said it in a tone that wouldn't tolerate any arguments from anyone.

With that Naruto, Sakura, Saske, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee entered the building. After sixty seconds Will and he others went in after them. They found every demon that was guarding the place dead. "They're good," said Tyler, "Silent and deadly."

They met up with the ninjas outside the control room. "The device is on the other side of this door," said Sakura, "So, we'll go in, destroy it, get out, find the others, destroy the Krell gateway on this world and we'll go home with Will's Folding."

"What about The God Hand?" asked Luffy, "Weren't we supposed to fight and destroy them?" "I'm not sure they're here," said Will, "I think this world is just a staging point for the demons. It isn't were The God Hand resides." "Well wherever they are," said Guts, "If they're not here, I'll just keep looking for them." "We'll worry about that later," said Max, "Let's just keep reality form falling apart for now."

Meanwhile in the control room, the two demons Jerry and Mr. Styx were enjoying a rare break while their master was out, "So the wife told me to move my skull collection to the basement," said Jerry, "Because she's got company coming. I'm like 'Honey this is work, I'm not putting my skull collection in the f#ck$ng basement!'" "That's your skull collection man," said Mr. Styx in a sympathetic tone.

"I know," said Jerry, "So I finally cave in just so she'll stop nagging me. So there I am, moving my skulls to the basement. I'm moving them one at a time, just to hear what she'll say next. I'm moving the last one and she asks me if I could put a tarp over them. I'm like 'No damn it! No!'"

"That's f#ck#d up man," said Mr. Styx. "I told her that if I can't display my skulls up here," said Jerry, "I'll display them in the basement. I'm not putting a tarp over them. I mean what's the point of displaying them if you're going to put a tarp over them. Yesterday, this is the other thing that gets my goat, yesterday I finally get around to taking care of the mold that's been growing on the living room ceiling because it has gotten really nasty in there. I offered to cover the mold in my own blood."

"That's a good idea," said Mr. Styx. "It is," said Jerry, "But the wife goes ballistic, she keeps nagging that we should have hired a contractor to get rid of the mold. Yeah right, like I'm gonna spend a fortune on some slouch when I can deal with it my way."

"I know how you feel," said Mr. Styx, "My wife doesn't think I can fix anything that's wrong with our house, I've got the same troubles at home, and I got a kid now." "Oh," said Jerry, "That's a whole other set of bull sh$t I'm sure."

"So my wife wants me to move my preserve brain collection away from where the baby sleeps, because she thinks it's unhygienic. I offer to have the baby sleep elsewhere in the room, she says no, because one side of the room gets more light than the other side. That's why I want my brain collection on that side of the room, because it gets more light."

"I don't understand how there is such a lack of appreciation for that backlight on your brain collection," said Jerry, "Because it just looks cool from that angle." "You've seen it?" asked Mr. Styx. "Why move it from that part of the room?" asked Jerry, "Because that's the whole point of having them in that part of the room, because it looks cool from that perspective."

"I've told the wife that," said Mr. Styx, "I've told her, but there's just no point arguing with women, it's impossible." "It's f#ck$ng ridicules if you ask me," said Jerry. Just then the door to the control room burst opened as Max, Will Naruto, Luffy, Ed, Al, Guts and the others rushed inside. "Hand's up!" shouted Max as she aimed his revolvers at the two demon technicians.

"Mercy!" shouted Mr. Styx, "We're just technicians! We don't fight or anything like that!" "What he said!" said Jerry. "If you help us stop the distortions your master is creating," said Jill, "We might be in the mood to show mercy."

Just then Will and Hay Lin got this strange, distant look on their faces. They were smiling like something good had just happened. "You okay?" asked Matt. "I'm fine," said Will in a calm and content voice, "I've just got this feeling that Cornelia and Caleb are safe." "Me too," said Hay Lin, "And that wherever they are, both of them are really happy."

"So this is it," said Violet as she walked around the device built by The Dadga Khan, "It's both crude and intricate at the same time. It's genius; in it's own sick, twisted way. It really makes me mad when science is used to make others suffer. There are at least a dozen components in this device that could have been used for good. That demon used them for evil. It's sickening."

"Al," said Ed as he and Al looked up at the top of the device. "Yes brother," said Al. "Is that what I think it is?" asked Ed. "I think so," said Al as he removed the glowing red object from the top of the device, "Brother, I think we've finally found a real Philosopher's Stone." "The Dadga Kahn must have been using it as a power source," said Eric, "How did he get it?"

"He didn't just get it," said Ed as he held the stone in his hands, "He made it by slaughtering innocent people. This stone was created in evil and used for evil. It's no use to me or Al." He dropped the stone to the ground and crushed it with his metal foot.

"You could have used that to restore Al's body," said Will, "Or your arm and leg." "We won't restore our bodies through shortcuts," said Al, "If my brother and I can't find a means to make a Philosopher's Stone without the need for human sacrifice, then we'll just have to do without."

"So now what?" asked Hay Lin. "Now we destroy this thing," said Guts as he raised his huge sword to smash the device. "Wait," said Violet, "If you try breaking it like that, who know what will happen. Sometimes it takes more than to smash a machine to destroy it."

Jill then pointed her cutlass at Jerry, "How do we destroy this thing?" she asked the demon. "I might as well tell you," said Jerry, "When the master finds out that his inner sanctum has been defiled by humans, I'm as good as dead."

"It is your master who is dead," said Fay as she, Garra, Leon, Caleb, Cornelia, Taranee, Irma and the others entered the room. "I knew you were alright!" exclaimed Will as she hugged Cornelia, "I think a change of attire is needed." She held out The Heart of Candracar, it flashed, and Cornelia was transformed into her Guardian self. "Much better," said Cornelia.

"So," said Hay Lin, "Anything you want to tell the us?" "About what?" asked Cornelia. "On how you got away from The Dadga Khan," said Will, "How did you and Caleb do it?" "We did it," said Cornelia, "If you know what I mean." "Oh I know what you mean," said Hay Lin, "It looks like only Irma is the only one left who hasn't been deflowered." "And I'll stay that way until marriage," said Irma, "Oh Martin, whatever happened to good old fashion American values?" "They went out the window with the introduction of phone sex and online pornography," said Martin.

"Wait a minute here," said Mr. Styx, "Did you say that the master is dead?" "Oh he's dead alright," said Garra, "Fay had her way with him, it was beautiful. I then deprived the demon of air until it died." "Then there's nothing holding you back," said Jill, "So how do we destroy the machine?"

"You'll never be able to take it apart in time," said Jerry, "Reinforcements will be here before you get even one tenth dismantled. There are two sure ways to destroy the device. First, you can let the pressure in the EPS turbines get above 2,600 PSI. That will cause the device to explode. Second, you can shut off the coolant to the inner core, it'll melt when it reaches 5,500 degrees. Either way will totally destroy the device."

"Which panel controls the pressure?" asked Violet, "And which regulates the coolant?" Jerry then showed Violet which panels controlled what. "I'm gonna do both," said Violet as she increased the pressure for the device, then deactivated the coolant flow, "I'd say we have about seven minutes to get out of here before this thing blows, let's go!"

Seven minutes later everyone stood outside in a large square of the city and watched as the building that housed the device exploded. "That takes care of that," said Max. He then triggered the detonator for the Krell gateway they came in through, "And that takes care of that."

"That did more than destroy the gateway in this world," said Martin, "I examined the tablets around that gateway; it's the master control gateway. When you destroyed that one, you destroyed all the remaining ones. Never again will reality be disrupted by the one fatal mistake of the Krell."

"And I'll destroy the dimensional transporter I invented when we get back home," said Violet. "But first I'll Fold us back to Ed and Al's world," said Will, "Sorry Guts, I guess The God Hand isn't here."

"Well you know what the song says," said D.P., "'you can't always get what you want.'" Just there Just then D.P. sensed something and stretched his metal arm out in front of Will. Something metal clanged into it, something that turned out to be a needle. "I'll bet this is poisoned," said D.P. as he pulled the needle out from his metal hand.

"And I would have hit Will!" exclaimed Pai-Mey as she leapt down form her perch on a leaning sign post, "If you hadn't blocked it!" "You are so dead!" shouted Tyler as he activated his armor, which unfolded from his vest. Once fully deployed, Tyler shot hundreds of bullets from his built-in machineguns, as well as several rockets and missiles. None of them found their target, for Pai-Mey had vanished into the ruined city.

"That bitch!" exclaimed Luffy, "I forgot about her!" "We're not leaving this place until we kill her," said Naruto, "Believe it!"

The end of chapter 23. Next chapter, it's the end for Pai-Mey. But who kills her? Is it Naruto? Or Luffy? Or Max? Or Jill? Or Steve? Or perhaps Guts? You'll have to wait to find out. Until then, please review, and I'll see you next time!


	24. Chapter 24: Equivalent Exchange

Last time Will, Violet and the others located and secured the device that was generating the time/space distortions. Once linking up with Caleb, Cornelia and everyone else, Violet set the machine to destroy itself. Just when we thought it was over, Pai-Mey showed up and shot a poison needle at Will. D.P. caught the needle in his metal hand, saving Will's life. On with the show!

Chapter 24 Equivalent Exchange

"That bitch!" exclaimed Luffy, "I forgot about her!" "We're not leaving this place until we kill her," said Naruto, "Once and for all. Believe it!" "Spread out!" ordered Will, "She couldn't have gone far!" With that our heroes began their hunt for Pai-Mey, determined to finish the disgraced ninja once and for all. They didn't really care who got to Pai-Mey first, just as long as she wound up dead.

As it turned out, it was Will who found Pai-Mey standing atop a tall building that was leaning over the edge of a bottomless cliff. "I was hoping it would be you who would catch up with me," said Pai-Mey, "How fitting that our climatic battle take place in this ghastly place."

"You're not escaping this time," said Will, "And I have no intention of showing mercy to you like I did for Nerissa. You've used up any chances for mercy when you shot that poisoned needle at me." "Well I meant to kill you," said Pai-Mey, "But even the best laid plans don't always work out."

"Before we start trying to kill each other," said Will, "Tell me this; what made you cross over into the dark side in the first place?" "It was that fool," said Pai-Mey, "The first Hokage of Konohamaru. He tried to lock me away for life, all because I tried to push the limits of ninja arts."

"You were delving into forbidden jutsus," said Will, "To the Hokage you were on the path to evil." "Well that's his opinion," said Pai-Mey as she pulled out a kuni knife, "So put a sock in it and fight!" "Gladly!" exclaimed Will

What would have followed would have been a long and time-consuming fight scene, and if this were a movie, and expensive one. Yet fate has a funny way of working things out.

Pai-Mey was just about to charge at Will when the section of the roof she was standing on gave way and fell into the gaping chasm below. She managed to grab hold of the edge of the roof, but was barely holding on. Will saw that she could have just walked away and Pai-Mey would fall. Yet what with Will being Will, her sense of compassion told her to try to do the right thing.

She knelt by the edge and held out her hand for Pai-Mey. "Grab hold!" said Will, "I'll pull you up!" "Pai-Mey didn't grab Will's hand, she instead grabbed hold of Will's leg and tried to pull her over. Will landed on the edge of the building and nearly fell off, but she managed to shake Pai-Mey off, forcing her to take hold of the edge again.

Will's sense of compassion was overridden by a rising tide righteous furry. "I!" exclaimed Will as she kicked Pai-Mey in the face, "Have had!" she kicked again, "Enough!" she kicked a third time, "Of you!" With one last kick, Pai-Mey's grasp failed and she fell into the chasm below.

Will flew back down to the center of the city were everyone else was waiting. "It's over," said Will, "Pai-Mey is no more." She suddenly stiffened and fell to the ground, a shuriken sticking out of her back. "Will!" exclaimed Matt as she rushed over to her, followed by Aaron. "It's just a blade," said Aaron as he pulled out the shuriken, "No poison, should heal just fine." "Easy for you to say," said Will as Aaron applied some healing salve to her back, "It still hurts."

"That was just to keep you down," said Pai-Mey, "I want you to be the last one alive as I kill all your pathetic friends." "I thought you said she was gone!" exclaimed Luffy. "It'll take more than falling down a chasm to destroy me," said Pai-Mey, "You stretchy freak! So, who's first? Which of you fools want to die first?"

"How 'bout me?" asked Naruto as he made his hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five seconds later there were about fifty Naruto's. "That old trick," said Pai-Mey mockingly, "It didn't work the last time, it won't work now."

"Well I've got something new up my sleeve," said the original Naruto as he made another set of hand signs, "Shadow Clone Merge!" The forty-nine Naruto clones then converged on the original and merged into one. Naruto started to glow bright red as both his chakra and stamina increased. "So that's what he's been working on all this time," said an amazed Sakura, "He's fused with his Shadow Clones."

Naruto then began to pummel Pai-Mey faster than she could block his blows. With his powers increased by a factor of fifty, Naruto seemed to have the upper hand. Yet it didn't last very long for he began to lose steam after three minutes. "I can't go on," said an exhausted Naruto, "I've used up all my chakra in one go. I'm done."

"But I'm not," said Pai-Mey, "You stupid little boy, you think you can defeat me?" "I can't," said Naruto as he pointed to something behind Pai-Mey, "But I'll bet he can, believe it." Pai-Mey then turned around to see Luffy with a huge chunk of a building in his outstretched arms. "Gum-Gum Smash!" exclaimed Luffy as he slammed the huge chunk of masonry on Pai-Mey.

"That did it!" exclaimed Nami, "She's good as dead." "Never!" raged Pai-Mey as she stood up again. "Sh$t!" exclaimed Jill, "What does it take to kill this bitch?" "Nothing!" raged Pai-Mey, "I cannot die!"

BANG!

Pai-Mey stumbled back from the force of the bullet impact. She looked down to see blood beginning to flow seep her heart. She then looked ahead to see Violet aiming her pistol at the disgrace ninja. A look of utter disbelief fell on Pai-Mey's face as Violet pulled the trigger again.

A second, then a third, a fourth and a fifth bullet found it's way into Pai-Mey's heart. She finally fell to the ground, apparently not moving. As Violet holstered her empty gun she looked Jill in the eye and asked, "Now are you glad that I came along?" "I am now," said Jill.

"Is she really dead?" asked Luffy. Saske 'borrowed' one of Zolo's swords and used it to remove Pai-Mey's head. "She sure is dead now," said Saske, "Believe it." "That's my line!" protested Naruto.

"She got what was coming to her," said Al, "Right, brother?" "You got it Al," said Ed, "The first law of Equivalent Exchange applies to more than Alchemy. 'To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' Pai-Mey tried to gain ultimate power. She lost her soul, now she has lost her life."

"Aw, I missed it!" exclaimed Chouji as he limped towards our heroes. "Chouji!" exclaimed Shikamaru, "You're alive!" "It'll take more than a bunch of demons to get rid of me," said Chouji, "Anybody got anything to eat? I'm starving." "We'll fix you a 17 course feast when we get home," said Ino, "You can count on that."

"Speaking of getting home," said Irma, "Do you think we could get out of here before any more demons show up?" "Too late," said Matt. He was pointing towards a large red vortex that was forming up the street. From the vortex emerged a tall woman with long spiky green hair, very pale skin and large bat-like wings. "Now what?" asked Cornelia.

"That," said Guts, "Is one of The God Hand. That is Slan." "So glad you recognize me, Black Swordsman," said the demon Slan, "I must admit, I'm impressed by how long you've survived. No matter how many minions sent against you, you always slay them all, despite the damage inflicted to your body."

The demon then looked at Will, Taranee and the others. "And you Guardians," said Slan, "up until recently you've been a minor annoyance. Yet this particular generation has disguised itself as a 'pain in the ass.' You should feel proud." "In a way we are," said Will, "To have gotten the full attention of The God Hand."

"Oh I'm the only one here," said Slan, "The others are merely watching" "Well if Griffith is watching," said Guts, "I hope he has a good view as I permanently remove your head!" "All in good time," said Slan, "And here are the famous Ramblers, you have given us more than a little trouble." "Glad that we've made such an impact," said Max.

"Oh cut the crap already!" exclaimed Naruto "If you're here to fight, then put up of shut up!" "I was right to assume that patience was never a virtue with you, young Uzimaki," said Slan, "I can assure you that your dream of becoming Hokage dies here!" "That's what you think," said Naruto, "Saske! Now!"

Standing exactly 100 yards behind Slan was Saske; his right hand gripping his left wrist and the left hand hovered just above the ground. He was generating so much chakra, Will and the others could actually see it spark and flash from his hand. "Lightning Blade!" shouted Saske. He charged at Slan, moving so fast that he appeared only as a blur. His left hand impacted on Slan's back, the force nearly disintegrating her spine.

"What the f#ck was that?" asked Steve. "That was the lightning blade," said Sakura, "A ninjutsu reserved for assassination. She's good as dead."

"How dare you!" raged the crippled demon, "You'll live to regret this insult!" "You demons appear to be all high and mighty," said Guts as he raised his sword for the finishing blow, "But when you get down to it, you're all just a bag of hot air." He swung his sword and removed Slan's head from her body.

"That's one," said Ed, "Let's hope the other four are as easy to defeat." "Don't count on it," said Guts. He then turned his gaze upwards, "I know you're watching, Griffith!" he yelled, "So why don't you come here and finish it!"

There was a minute or two of silence, and then another red vortex appeared. From this vortex emerged what appeared to be a man completely covered in red leather and wearing a red cape. The leather turned out to be its skin, the cape were wings. From it's red helmet-like head Will could see a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed to pierce directly to her soul. "Hello, Guts," said the demon Femto, also known as Griffith, "It's been so long."

The end of chapter 24. Next chapter, it's do or die as Guts faces Griffith. Please review and I'll see you next time!


	25. Chapter 25: Victory in Sight

Last time Violet shot and killed Pai-Mey. Then the demon Slan appeared, but was disabled by Saske, then killed by Guts. Now the leader of The God Hand is here. On with the show!

Chapter 25: Victory in Sight

There was a minute or two of silence, and then another red vortex appeared. From this vortex emerged what appeared to be a man completely covered in red leather and wearing a red cape. The leather turned out to be its skin, the cape were wings. From it's red helmet-like head Will could see a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed to pierce directly to her soul. "Hello, Guts," said the demon Femto, also known as Griffith, "It's been so long."

"Not long enough for me, Griffith," said Guts, "So cut the chatter and let's get this over with." "That name," said Femto, "Means nothing to me anymore. The one you know as Griffith died that day in the snow outside the capital of Midland." "I won that duel fair and square," said Guts, "And you were still you, even though I admit that in breaking your sword, I also broke your spirit. I admit that I should have done something instead of just walking away. Things might have turned out differently. But you're right on one thing; the man I knew as Griffith no longer exists, but he didn't die that day, no. The man I called my friend, the man I willingly committed murder for, the man I would have given my life for, he ceased to be when he betrayed The Band of the Hawk to the demons."

"And you're the only one left from The Band of the Hawk who still lives," said Femto, "Today you join your fallen comrades." "They were our comrades!" shouted Guts, "Judeau, Pippin, Ricket, even that idiot Corkus, and especially Casca. We all loved you, we believed in you and your dream, and you threw it all away and for what, a night with the princess? Everyone knew she would have chosen you as her husband, even the king of Midland would have gladly accepted you as his heir."

"That's all in the past," said Femto, "What's done is done. The man you knew as your friend is dead." "Yes," said Guts, "The man I called friend is dead. I'm still calling you Griffith only out of habit. Now all that remains is a demon, a demon I shall destroy." He readied his sword for battle, "Will, you and the others stay out of this, it's between me and the demon."

"And when I destroy you," said Femto as he formed a blood-red rapier of dark energy, "I shall raise your corpse as my servant." "That'll be the day!" said Guts, "DIE!" He charged at Femto. Their blades met in a clash of sparks as they exchanged blows. For the first few minutes of the fight, they seemed evenly matched.

Then Guts drew first blood as she slashed Femto across the left side of his torso. "That was for Judeau," said Guts, "The next one is for Pippin!" He then slashed Femto on the left leg. Yet his cuts seemed to do no serious damage to the demon.

"He's running out of energy," said Will, "I can sense it, he's starting to lose." "Don't say that," said Hay Lin, "He can win, I know he can win." Just then Femto stabbed Guts just above the elbow of his metal arm. "There goes your sword arm," said Femto, "Let's see you fight now."

"You forget, Griffith," said Guts, "I've had a lot of practice using my sword with just my right hand!" He grasped his sword in his right hand and slashed at Femto. The demon barely dodged the blade, the tip scratching him across the face. "That was for Ricket," said Guts, "And this is for that idiot Corkus!" he stabbed at Femto, who narrowly dodged the stroke, yet the blade caught him in his right wing, cutting it off.

Yet Femto used the loss of his wing as a distraction to stab Guts in both legs. Guts fell to the ground, his sword falling form his hand. "You've had a good run, Guts," said Femto as he stood over Guts, "Over four centuries you've survived. But now your time is up, accept your destiny and die."

"Never," said Guts as he grabbed the handle of his sword and tried to stand up, "As long as there is breath in my body, I'll never stop. Not until every single one of you demons are dead by my sword." "Look at yourself," said Femto, "You're a wreck, you can barely stand up, let alone lift your monstrosity of a sword." "Sure I can," said Guts as he staggered to his feet. He began to lift his sword, but then stumbled, dropping the huge blade.

"Oh no!" said Irma, "He's done for!" "I can't watch!" exclaimed Cornelia as she hid her face in Caleb's arms. "You had me worried for a second, Guts," said Femto, "But destiny wins out in the end. I shall make your death quick, but I promise you it shall hurt."

The demon closed the distance between him and Guts for the killing blow. Femto raised his blade to strike, but faltered as Guts stabbed him in the belly with one of his throwing knifes, knifes that Will would later learn belonged to Judeau.

"You were right, Griffith," said Guts he pushed Femto backwards onto the ground, "It did hurt. That was for the rest of The Band of the Hawk put together, all but one." Guts limped over to Femto and kicked the red rapier away from Femto. He then knelt beside Femto, reached down with his metal hand and grabbed hold of the demon's genitals. Femto howled in agony as Guts ripped away the demon's sexual organs. "That was for Casca!" exclaimed Guts, "And this is for me!" He then began to pound away at Femto's face with both hands.

"FOUR-HUNDRED YEARS YOU SON OF A BITCH!" raged Guts as he delivered blow after blow to Femto's head. After about ten minutes Guts was pounding only wet chunks of meat and bone into the ground, so he stopped. "So long, Griffith," panted Guts, "It's been a pleasure."

"You okay?" asked Hay Lin. "I think so," said Guts as he sheathed his sword, "In fact, I feel better than I've ever felt in a long, long time." Yet Gut's feeling of elation didn't last as he clutched at his neck again, blood flowing from the brand of sacrifice.

**"Black Swordsman,"** rumbled a deep voice that come from nowhere, **"You, and your comrades, shall die!"**

"Oh crap!" exclaimed Nigel. Will looked at where Nigel was pointing at; in the distance there were several red vortexes, with thousands of demons pouring out of each of them, all of them charging towards our heroes.

"That's a lot of demons," said Irma. "I think we've done enough for one day," said Max. "You said it," said Luffy. "You all know I hate running away," said Naruto, "but to stay would lead to certain death, believe it." "Will," said Cornelia, "Do that voodoo that you do so well." "Thought you'd never ask," said Will. She then used The Heart of Candracar to form a huge Fold, "Everyone through, now!"

"Where does that go to?" asked Ed. "Back to your world," said Will, "Now everyone go!" The first to go through the Fold were Luffy and his crew, followed by Max and half the Ramblers. Then the ninjas went through, except Rock Lee. Naruto was the last one to go.

Jill was among the Ramblers who didn't go through with Max. She was extracting a heavy device from her bag. "What are you doing!" exclaimed Violet, for the demons were less than a mile away, "We got to go!" "I'm just leaving a little goodbye gift for the demons," said Jill as she flipped the 'on' switch on the device. "A Stone Burner," said an impressed Martin, "A bomb with the same destructive force as a nuclear warhead but without the radiation."

"I've set the timer," said Jill, "It'll blow in one minute." "Then why are we still hanging around here?" asked Taranee, "Let's go!" She and Nigel went through the Fold, followed by Irma and Martin, Cornelia and Caleb, then Will and Matt. Jill, Violet and the remaining Ramblers then went through.

Only Hay Lin, Rock Lee, Eric, Ed, Al and Guts were left. "Come on!" exclaimed Ed as he pulled at Guts, "We've done enough for one day!" With one last glare at the demons, Guts went through the Fold, followed by Ed, Al, Eric, Rock Lee and Hay Lin. The Fold then closed from the other side just as the demons reached the Stone Burner. It detonated five seconds later, destroying everything in a radius of five miles.

Back on Ed and Al's world, stood waiting Mustang, Armstrong and Winry. "What happened?" asked Mustang. "First of all," said Ed as he and Al saluted Mustang. He and Armstrong saluted back. "Second of all," said Ed, "The demons won't bother us again." "Most important," said Violet, "We've stopped the time/space distortions. The fabric of reality should heal itself over time." "Well that's good news if I ever heard it," said Will.

The end of chapter 25. Next chapter our heroes bid farewell to each other and return to their respective dimensions. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	26. Chapter 26: To Wherever The Wind Takes M

Last time Will and the others watched as Guts confronted Femto; leader of The God Hand, also known as Griffith. They fought and Guts killed the demon. Just then a fresh wave of demons appeared. Will and the others determined it was time to go. Before leaving, Jill planted a Stone Burner bomb that detonated after everyone was safely back on Ed and Al's world. On with the show!

Chapter 26: To Wherever the Wind Takes Me

The next day was spent recovering from injuries. The day after that was a day of goodbyes. Will opened a Fold to Naruto's world, Luffy's world and Max's world. There were several rounds of goodbye's and promises to see each other again. Rock Lee was the last of the ninjas to leave; he was having an extra long goodbye with Hay Lin. "You truly are a splendid ninja," said Hay Lin, "You always were to me."

"As soon as I get back to the Bureau lab," said Violet as the other Ramblers went through the Fold, "I'm destroying my dimensional transporter. Then erase all the research data on my computer, and then I'll destroy that computer so the data can't be recovered. Finally I'll burn all my research that I have on paper. All that'll be left is what's in my head, and it'll stay there."

"I can't imagine how hard it'll be to destroy something you've created," said Martin, "but then science can go too far. It's for the best." "I'm not destroying my invention just to protect the fabric of reality," said Violet, "It's in memory of the Krell. They pushed the boundary of science too far and they paid the price. Progress is good, but progress without control is never good." With that she stepped through the Fold back to her world.

Rock Lee had went back to his world, and the pirates had returned to theirs. "We'll see them again," said Will, "call it women's intuition." "Well I hope this isn't the last time we get to work together," said Al. "Same here," said Caleb as he shook Ed's hand then Al's, "I hope you two someday find a way to restore your bodies."

Will then created a Fold back to Metamore. "See you around," said Will as she and the others went through. They arrived back at the palace at Meridian where Elyon and Yan Lin were waiting. "From the lack of demons and earthquakes," said Elyon, "It's safe to assume you've succeeded."

"You got that right," said Irma. "Oh Cornelia," said Elyon, "You owe me fifty bucks." "I'll write you a check," said Cornelia through gritted teeth. "Why would Cornelia owe you fifty dollars?" asked Irma. "Because I won a bet," said Elyon, "You and Martin got together by Sunday, so I win." "You betted on us!" exclaimed Irma.

Meanwhile Guts had asked Will to form a Fold for him, "Just send me anywhere," said Guts, "As long as I'm on solid ground on the other side." "Why do you have to leave?" asked Hay Lin, "We won, you killed Griffith, The Band of the Hawk has been avenged." "That's true," said Guts, "We did deal a crippling blow to The God Hand. It'll be centuries before they recover, but there are still three of them out there, and they're still after me. It's not safe for me to be here."

"You walked out on me before," said Yan Lin, "Are you sure this is what you want?" "I'm still a target for the demons," said Guts, "And I'll be one until the day I die, which may not be for a long time." He bent down and kissed Yan Lin on the forehead, "I still care for you."

"But where will you go?" asked Hay Lin as Will formed a Fold to a random dimension. "To wherever the wind takes me," said Guts as he stepped through the Fold. Will then closed it. "That's exactly what he told me when he left me before," said Yan Lin, "It didn't hurt as much this time."

"By now the power has been fixed in Heatherfield," said Will, "And since we told our parents we were staying with Elyon, I feel that we should be heading home." "That's a great idea," said Irma, "I feel that I've had enough excitement for a while now." "You sure?" asked Taranee. "Well," said Irma, "At least until the next crisis when we're needed."

Thus ends 'Fullmetal W.I.T.C.H.' Wow! That story had a lot of powerful emotion, didn't it? Review to your hearts content. Until the next story that pops into my head…

The End


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